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2018-12-14T12:17:54.893

|fusion360|

<p>I have this sketch which I have accidantly rotated by some arbitary angle.</p> <p>I need the dotted line to be parallel with the x-axis and the small, left hand side to be flush with the y-axis.</p> <p>I've tried using the <code>Align</code> function, but can't seem to get htat to work.</p> <p>Ive tried rotating the sketch, but I can't see a way to measure the angle it's off by in order to specify how far to rotate it.</p> <p>I'm very new to Fusion 360, and CAD in general so it's probably something really simple.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/FocbR.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/FocbR.png" alt="Sketch needs rotating."></a></p>

7642

How to align sketch with the x-axis

<p>It's rather simple:</p> <ol> <li>Start to edit the sketch with this line via a right-click <code>edit sketch</code></li> <li>click the line you want to force horizontal</li> <li>on the right menu, the lower menu has "align horitontal/vertical", click it</li> <li>DONE</li> </ol> <p>To find the button I mean, a picture with the right tool next to the red mark:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/vYKsk.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/vYKsk.png" alt="The alignment tool icons. Marked red: the 8th (horizontal/vertical). Marked blue: the 12th (symmetry)."></a></p> <p>Hint: in the case of your item, I suggest to use the blue marked symmetry on the two lines you forced to be equal:</p> <ol> <li>first choose the lines (SHIFT)</li> <li>choose the tool</li> <li>click the symmetry line (in your case: the construction line)</li> </ol>

2018-12-14T14:52:34.647

|nozzle|bed-leveling|build-plate|

<p>A couple of prints after leveling the bed (&lt;10), I noticed some weird sound, and saw the nozzle scratching the build-plate. What is really weird, is that I noticed (My printer is in quite a dark edge, so the build plate isn't really illuminated), that there were some scratches from a print before, but it worked fine with the prints in between. So my question is, how that might have happened, could it be also software issues (Maybe some mistakes converting to gcode?), or is this propably purely a mechanical issue? Furthermore, I'd like to ask whether this may cause any problems, e.g. massively reducing print quality, or weakening the grip of the prints.</p> <p>I'm using the Tevo Michelangelo 3D, with manual leveling (it drives to the positions, but one has to tighten/loose the screws). Note that <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/7332/tevo-michelangelo-nozzle-below-build-plate">I might have overtightened the screws in the beginning</a>. Another thing I noticed is that the screws on one side tend to be more loose than the other ones.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ROEST.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ROEST.jpg" alt="Build plate"></a></p>

7645

Scratches in the build plate - How did this happen, and may it cause problems?

<p>As the question continued in comments, it can be read that the build plate had over-tight screws and loose screws on the build plate. This uneven tension could lead to stresses that warp the bed, e.g. lower corner and bulging out in the middle of the bed. When levelling on the corners, the nozzle could hit the bulge in the middle when printing. Furthermore, an endstop may have shifted during operation.</p>

2018-12-14T18:15:41.023

|troubleshooting|stepper-driver|flashforge-creator|

<p>I have a FlashForge Creator Pro. It is equipped with the board revision V SF7.7.</p> <p>My Right extruder prints great, however, the left does not work at all. I have tried to diagnose the cause, but at this point, I feel all the mechanicals are working and it's coming down to logic boards. I don't know what and how to test these. The main problem is like this:</p> <ol> <li>When I order to Load/Unload Filament the motor does not advance</li> <li>When printing from the left extruder, filament does not come out.</li> </ol> <p>I have done the following tests:</p> <ol> <li>The hotend works and the nozzle is clear. I can push filament through when it is hot.</li> <li>Teeth are in great shape, unclogged and perfectly aligned with the "V" on the guide wheel.</li> <li>The Stepper motor is functional. I can perform the LED test on both pairs of leads and 3V LED lights are up when the motor is turned.</li> <li>The Stepper cable is OK. I tested continuity on all 4 wires and they are fine.</li> <li>The Connectors are fine and well-seated.</li> <li>Voltage to Stepper Driver board: 5.0V when the machine is powered ON</li> </ol> <p>I have however encountered these tests that seemed to show a fail:</p> <ol> <li>When I set the left extruder to "Unload Filament" the voltage across both pairs of leads is 0V</li> </ol> <p>How can I continue troubleshooting and fixing the machine?</p>

7650

Extruder_2 Stepper Motor does not work

<p>The next logical step is to swap the working board with the one that powers the misbehaving motor. If this fixes the motor but makes the other one stop working, it hints that the stepper driver board might be broken. If it does not fix the motor but the right motor works again, while the left is not, then the motors or the board controlling the stepper drivers might be broken.</p> <p>As changing the driver boards did (as OP said) swap the problem from the left to the right extruder, it is extremely likely that the board that was originally left is defective in some way.</p> <p>Getting a replacement part might be in order, and until then, running with a single extruder.</p>

2018-12-14T18:19:40.210

|3d-design|post-processing|

<p>I have a bunch of ball bearings (608 2RS) that I'm planning on using in a project with printed parts. But I'm not sure how to attach and secure them properly. </p> <p>How is this done usually?</p>

7651

How to attach a metal bearing to a print

<p>Ball bearings are usually fitted in one style, no matter what is the material that they are embedded in: <strong>press fit</strong>.</p> <h2>Press fit</h2> <p>To get a good press fit, the part will have to have a hole that is the diameter of the bearing (22 mm) plus a little margin that depends on your printer and filament. From my own experience, a design with 22.1 mm to 22.4 mm diameter resulted in a near-enough 22mm hole that gave decent fit. Your design will need to be adjusted depending on the material and resolution of the printer.</p> <p>Note that in the case of machined metal parts, the hole usually is not exactly 22mm but a coupe thau (=1/1000 inch) smaller as the bearings get pressed into the hole with a hydraulic press. They do deliberately deform the bearing and workpiece a tiny bit to sit perfectly. If you make the hole <em>too much too small</em>, the printed parts could break under the stress such treatment puts them under. However, if done just right the ring itself will deform just enough to fit the bearing's casing, as long as it is flexible enough. I have experienced prints of 2 wall thickness with 15-20% infill to allow a little bit of flex, which resulted in them applying quite some tension on a set of three screws: the <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2275654" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Slider for 2040 Openbuild V-slot by FabianFriethjoph</a> does use this effect from PLA to force the wheels into the guide rail just enough to prevent wobble.</p> <p>Since most filaments shrink, you might still need to use a larger-than 22 mm hole in design to get just a couple thau under the 22 mm you want for the perfect press fit.</p> <h2>Adjustable position</h2> <p>In <em>some</em> cases, ball bearings are fitted into larger holes, and then fastened and adjusted with a set of 3 setscrews - their seat can be changed slightly to compensate for warp or shear of the whole item. However, printed plastics are bad at holding a thread, and it would be a very good idea to include a metal insert with the thread. For example, you could include a nut in the middle of the ring holding the bearing, or you might use metal inserts.</p> <h2>Capping</h2> <p>Even if one uses a snug press fit or adjustable position, it can be a good idea to use a cap that makes sure the bearing can't fall out of its area without removing the cap first.</p>

2018-12-15T15:47:26.457

|calibration|hotend|

<p>I have a Monoprice Maker Ultimate 3D printer (a rebranded Wanhao Duplicator 6) and out of the box the hotend temps when set to 200 would vary between 190 and 210. I used repetier-host to run <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/PID_Tuning" rel="nofollow noreferrer">PID tuning</a> and stored the last set of values it gave when it finished, however I'm still seeing around 5 degree temp swings.</p> <p>Here's a screenshot of the temp during a Benchy print from Octoprint:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/I3HxO.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/I3HxO.png" alt="Temperature swings"></a></p> <p>I tried PID tuning again, which gave different values, but basically the same results. Is there anything I can do to improve this? The Maker Select Plus I had only seemed to vary +/- 1 degree so I'm assuming this is more than expected. (I don't actually know what the implications are, so I don't know whether it is/will affect my print quality).</p> <p>Is there another way of tuning (I don't fancy manually tweaking numbers and testing for hours), or if I do more than 8 cycles (the default on the Wiki page linked above) would that improve the accuracy?</p>

7661

How to reduce +/- 5 degree temp swings of hotend (after PID tuning)

<p>If you are sure that PID is enabled (and not using bang-bang heating, as this gives a very similar heating profile) and did not fix the fluctuations, the best guess for this phenomenon is that the printer board has incorrect capacitors installed on the printer board. This is not very uncommon and can be found on the internet. You should at least show the graph to the vendor and ask for support.</p> <p>If incorrect or faulty capacitors are the cause it requires desoldering, and resoldering new ones. If this is out of your comfort zone, it is better to steer your communication with the vendor to replacing the board.</p>

2018-12-16T11:54:45.253

|prusa-i3|heated-bed|ramps-1.4|troubleshooting|

<p>I'm setting up my first 3D Printer, a Prusa i3 MK2 clone. When I try to heat the bed, nothing happens. Then Marlin throws this error after a while: </p> <pre><code>Bed Heating Failed PRINTER HALTED Please reset </code></pre> <p>In Pronterface I see this in the console:</p> <pre><code>Error:Heating failed, system stopped! Heater_ID: bed [ERROR] Error:Heating failed, system stopped! Heater_ID: bed Error:Printer halted. kill() called! [ERROR] Error:Printer halted. kill() called! </code></pre> <p>There is 0 voltage across D8 on the Ramps board, where it is connected. When I heat up the hotend, on the other hand, which is connected to D10, I see 12V across the board's D10 terminals.</p> <p>The bed is MK42 type.</p> <p>My axes, extruder hotend and fans are working OK. </p> <p>I previously burned out the 5&nbsp;V regulator on my Arduino Mega by misconnecting one of the end stops. I replaced the regulator on the board and the 5&nbsp;V supply seems to be working OK again. However I wondered if I might have damaged the board in some other respect? Or is there a config setting in Marlin I should change?</p>

7667

RAMPS board - no power to heatbed

<p>The problem was that one of the pins on the Ramps board power supply header was not soldered. The manufacturer had omitted to solder one of the pins, so there was no power to D8. Fixed by soldering the pin in place.</p>

2018-12-16T21:27:51.130

|print-quality|calibration|

<p>I recently got myself a Prusa i3, that I needed to assemble and adjust myself. As expected, the first prints was of quite poor quality. After better adjustment, I improved a bit the print, but I am not quite there yet. I was hoping to get some advice on how to improve the print based on few pictures of the 3DBenchy boat I printed.</p> <p>The most annoying point, on the following image, is the dent that I have in the hull, on the front of the boat. And one layer appears to be missing or close. And I have another one just like it in the top cabin. I also think that my specific settings on the first layers shouldn't be there, because they don't improve anything, but that is another topic.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/nDQXM.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/nDQXM.jpg" alt="3DBenchy boat with dents"></a></p> <p>Also, when I look on the top, I have a lot of filament strings getting here and there, the path of the tip of the printer is quite visible on the roof and floor, the steering wheel is not to clear, etc. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/R6a1Y.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/R6a1Y.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>Also, at the end of the boat, I am supposed to have some letters, but I cannot read them because of the poor definition of the print...</p> <p>How can I improve the quality of the print? What settings should be looked at?</p> <p>The material used for printing is PLA. The hotend temperature was set to 215&nbsp;&deg;C for the first layer, 210&nbsp;&deg;C for the rest. The bed at 65&nbsp;°C for the first, then 60&nbsp;°C. The setting in Slic3r for the fan is between 35% to 100%. If I understand the rule correctly, under 5 sec for a layer, it is 100%, then it decreases proportionally up to 35% if the layer is done in 60 sec. And off otherwise.</p> <p>The diameter of the filament is set to 1.75, with a nozzle of 0.4&nbsp;mm. I wonder if I should put it to 0.375&nbsp;mm.</p> <p>I otherwise think that it is a genuine prusa, but clearly not from the first iteration. I don't have an arduino on it, but the makerbase chip. (That comes from a kit I bought online.) I would wait to be a bit more confident before attempting any modifications.</p> <p>The speed for perimeters is 60&nbsp;mm/s, 30&nbsp;mm/s for external perimeters. Infill 80&nbsp;mm/s. Bridges 60&nbsp;mm/s. Support material 60&nbsp;mm/s. Non print move: 130&nbsp;mm/s. There are a couple of other print speed, but I don't think they are that relevant for the case.</p> <p>After modifications of temperature and cooling, following the answers, I got the following print: (Nozzle 200&nbsp;°C, fan at 50&nbsp;%) <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/johYB.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/johYB.jpg" alt="New boat with burn dent."></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/P1Q2R.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/P1Q2R.jpg" alt="Burned plastic"></a></p> <p>Weirdly, it was like the PLA got burned here and there, which was not the case at hotter temperature... But at least, the edges are sharper, and the writings are easier to read! I will try to lower a bit more the temperature, but I would need to fight a bit with my extruder motor, which seems to have hard time pushing the PLA when the temperature is too low.</p> <p>I tested at an even lower temperature: 190&nbsp;°C. The result is not pretty, the layer were not sticking to each other. And even at 195&nbsp;°C, some layer don't attach. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2tMzI.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2tMzI.jpg" alt="Low temperature print."></a></p> <p>I tried again at 200&nbsp;°C, but with lower peripheral printing speed. It did help! I can feel the progress. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LwRBb.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LwRBb.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>However, I still have a small dent. And on the following picture, we can clearly see that there are sometimes molten half-burned PLA dripping. And there are still strings remaining between the places. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kVAUE.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kVAUE.jpg" alt="Molten PLA"></a></p> <p>The nozzle was cleaned just before this print.</p>

7671

Calibration improvement of the Prusa i3

<p>Your hotend temperature is too high and/or too less part cooling. The part cooling is very important to solidify the hot fluid filament in time to have a solid fundament for the next layer. PLA has a reasonably low glass temperature (at this point the filament is weak and mealable/flexible, at about 60&nbsp;&deg;C), if the part is not cooled properly, the part temperature can be over the glass temperature when printing the next layer and will distort the previous and current layer.</p> <p>I print PLA at a maximum temperature of 200&nbsp;&deg;C (<a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/7635/5740">for my thermistor reading</a>).</p> <p>A combination or a single of these parameters not being the correct value will cause the dent at the front and the stringing and letters to be faded as the filament is not cooled properly and deforms the previous and current layer, this easily shows up in overhangs like at the bow of your print. </p> <p>Try to lower the hotend temperature by 5&nbsp;&deg;C per next calibration print (or start at 200&nbsp;&deg;C and work down from there) and increase the part cooling a little if possible (35&nbsp;% to 50&nbsp;%). The build plate generally does not need to be 5&nbsp;&deg;C higher for the first layer nor do you need an extra 5&nbsp;&deg;C for the hotend, PLA is not that difficult to print.</p>

2018-12-17T09:31:20.753

|marlin|hotend|delta|cooling|

<p>I plugged a new fan into the (TriGorilla v1.4) printer board Fan0 which I found out to be broken. </p> <p>I'm trying to upgrade the part cooling fan for a bigger one. Unfortunately after plugging in the old one, I realize that the fan is constantly "ON". On other forum someone told me that MOSFET might be shorted from plugging in the broken fan. </p> <p>This triggered my question: "Is there any possible way to change the firmware FAN0 to use FAN1 socket?" and: "Would that work for part cooling model fan?"</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/bMQf2.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/bMQf2.jpg" alt="Motherboard"></a></p>

7674

Changing FAN0 to FAN1 in TriGorilla printer board

<p><strong>Yes you can</strong> use another fan port, this requires some editing of the configuration files of the firmware and reflash the firmware.</p> <p>If you look at the <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/download:4012609" rel="nofollow noreferrer">documentation</a> of the board and an overview of the board layout, you will see that there are 3 PWM controlled FAN ports. The answer is therefore yes, you can use another port (e.g. FAN1 or FAN2) to be used for your broken FAN0 port. The most easy solution is to swap the port numbers in the pins configuration of your firmware, so swap pins 'D9' and 'D7'.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/N4s1M.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/N4s1M.png" alt="Trigorilla printer board pin layout"></a></p> <p>How you edit the configuration is depending on the version of the TriGorilla board you have, there is a version 1.3 and a version 1.4.</p> <p>Basically you need to define the software FAN (0) to be reached at the hardware location Fan1 using pin 7:</p> <pre><code>#define FAN_PIN 7 </code></pre> <p>Subsequently, FAN1 in software needs to points to Fan0 in hardware</p> <pre><code>#define FAN1_PIN 9 </code></pre> <p>If you changed this, the software will think that the Fan1 port on the board is the software FAN. </p> <p><strong><em>If you are using the v1.4 TriGorilla printer board</em></strong>, the v1,4 specific pin definition is found in <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/1.1.x/Marlin/pins_TRIGORILLA_14.h" rel="nofollow noreferrer">pins_TRIGORILLA_14.h</a>. If you look into this file you will see that this is basically a RAMPS board:</p> <pre><code>#define IS_RAMPS_EFB ... #include "pins_RAMPS.h" </code></pre> <p>So editing for you need to redirect the pins 7 and 9, but you only have a single active fan (as per <code>#define IS_RAMPS_EFB</code>)! Luckily we can forget about the second fan as you want to replace the first by the second.</p> <p>In <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/1.1.x/Marlin/pins_RAMPS.h" rel="nofollow noreferrer">pins_RAMPS.h</a> you will find:</p> <pre><code>#ifndef RAMPS_D9_PIN #define RAMPS_D9_PIN 9 #endif </code></pre> <p>Note that it is wise not to edit this latter file, instead edit your copy of <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/1.1.x/Marlin/pins_TRIGORILLA_14.h" rel="nofollow noreferrer">pins_TRIGORILLA_14.h</a> to include assigning of the pin 7 to the Fan1 header as FAN in the firmware.</p> <p>If you look closely at the assigning of the <code>RAMPS_D9_PIN</code> pin, it says: <code>#ifndef</code>; so if it has been assigned previously, do not override the value.</p> <p>Now edit the <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/1.1.x/Marlin/pins_TRIGORILLA_14.h" rel="nofollow noreferrer">pins_TRIGORILLA_14.h</a> file to include:</p> <pre><code>// Comment out this line: //#define FAN_PIN 9 // And enter this beneath that line #define RAMPS_D9_PIN 7 </code></pre> <p>or</p> <pre><code>#define FAN_PIN 7 // this bypasses setting of the RAMPS_D9_PIN constant </code></pre> <p>From this point on, if the software addresses scheduling of the FAN port, the pin 7 schedules the MOSFET attached to the Fan1 header.</p> <hr> <p>Basically, the above procedure describes how one directs hardware ports by changing the addressing in the firmware configuration.</p> <p><strong><em>If this does not work, there might be more things broken on your board.</em></strong></p>

2018-12-17T10:52:57.067

|marlin|firmware|

<p>Where is the correct Marlin firmware file and location to add code that I want to shop up in the LCD menu of my printer, and then execute the function I write when the button is pressed?</p> <p>For example I want to add a menu item that says "Preheat Custom" that is in the same menu as "preheat PLA" and "preheat ABS" and then runs code to heat to values I specify.</p> <p><em>I'm running Marlin Firmware version 1.1.9 on a Creality Ender 3.</em></p>

7676

How to add menu options to the (Marlin firmware) LCD menu?

<p>Preheat Constants - Up to 5 are supported without changing the code just add a new one and then build</p> <pre><code>#define PREHEAT_1_LABEL &quot;PLA&quot; #define PREHEAT_1_TEMP_HOTEND 215 #define PREHEAT_1_TEMP_BED 70 #define PREHEAT_1_TEMP_CHAMBER 35 #define PREHEAT_1_FAN_SPEED 0 // Value from 0 to 255 #define PREHEAT_2_LABEL &quot;PETG&quot; #define PREHEAT_2_TEMP_HOTEND 235 #define PREHEAT_2_TEMP_BED 70 #define PREHEAT_2_TEMP_CHAMBER 35 #define PREHEAT_2_FAN_SPEED 0 // Value from 0 to 255 #define PREHEAT_3_LABEL &quot;ABS&quot; #define PREHEAT_3_TEMP_HOTEND 270 #define PREHEAT_3_TEMP_BED 100 #define PREHEAT_3_TEMP_CHAMBER 35 #define PREHEAT_3_FAN_SPEED 0 // Value from 0 to 255 #define PREHEAT_4_LABEL &quot;NYLON&quot; #define PREHEAT_4_TEMP_HOTEND 260 #define PREHEAT_4_TEMP_BED 65 #define PREHEAT_4_TEMP_CHAMBER 35 #define PREHEAT_4_FAN_SPEED 0 // Value from 0 to 255 <span class="math-container">```</span> </code></pre>

2018-12-17T13:09:31.213

|3d-design|support-structures|pva|

<p>I am at the moment designing some in place mechanical parts. Something like two cylinders that rotate with respect to each other. I need in my design some overhangs that cannot be printed and I was thinking of using soluble supports to be able to print these overhangs. I am afraid that by using something like PVA the PVA will end up between the two parts and glue the together. </p> <p>Does anyone have any experience with this? Can something be done about this apart from 'not using PVA'?</p> <p><strong>Edit:</strong></p> <p>Here is an (minimal) example of an object I would be worried about. The blue and red cylinders are supposed to turn around each other and there is a cutout in the blue cylinder that will need support (the bridge is to long to print without support).</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/GJUI6.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/GJUI6.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

7677

PVA support with small tolerances

<p>You've not stated this, but one must presume that you have a dual or multi-material extruder equipped printer.</p> <p>Because PVA dissolves in water, the supports will be eroded on contact when the part is immersed. As the PVA dissolves, it increases the concentration of PVA in the water, but only slightly. You would have to agitate the water, change it if you feel it is becoming too concentrated. At some point, you should be able to rotate the cylinders, creating more turbulence, causing more PVA to dissolve into the water.</p> <p>If you are determined enough, you can cause all of the PVA to dissolve, followed by a rinse with clean water. This would remove any residual PVA.</p> <p>The water containing the dissolved PVA is somewhat sticky, but would not glue parts together if the parts were thoroughly rinsed. It's not out of the question to use an ultrasonic cleaner with plain water to provide sufficient turbulence, again changing the water periodically to keep the concentration low.</p> <p>If you use an ultrasonic cleaner, test a sample of your print filament to determine if the heat generated will soften the plastic. I've had success with PVA to the extent that I have not had to use an ultrasonic cleaner to remove it.</p>

2018-12-17T13:11:56.090

|extruder|creality-ender-3|retraction|

<p>I am trying to get rid of stringing on my prints, to do that I have tried turning on a retraction in Ultimaker Cura, and reducing flow.</p> <p>When I turn on retraction it causes the extruder to skip on the filament. the extruder pulls the material out as it should, but when it pushes back in as it prints the next parts it goes part of the way then it skips making the bumping sound, it seems to do this almost every time that it retracts.</p> <p>To stop this from happening I have tried changing the retraction distance from 10mm to 5mm, the retraction speed from 60&nbsp;mm/s to 40&nbsp;mm/s, the flow from 100% to 90% and the temperature from 200&nbsp;&deg;C to 220&nbsp;&deg;C.</p> <p>I am using the Ender 3 running Marlin 1.1.9 with an aluminium Bowden extruder upgrade and BLTouch.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ro18N.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ro18N.jpg" alt="Retraction print "></a></p> <p>How do prevent this skipping due to retraction?</p> <p><strong>Update:</strong></p> <p>After changing the setting to what has been suggested in <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/7679/5740">this answer</a> the result of the retraction print resulted in:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/MKmmV.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/MKmmV.jpg" alt="Retraction print 2: Lowered retraction settings to 25&nbsp;mm/s"></a></p> <p>It has almost completely solved the stringing problem as well.</p>

7678

Retraction Causing Skipping

<p>Fighting stringing will not work by increasing the temperature of the hotend.</p> <p>There could be 2 possible causes for your problem, </p> <ul> <li>the first is that you still have a too high retraction speed, too high for your stepper to follow (do note that the default value in Ultimaker Cura is 25&nbsp;mm/s),</li> <li>the second is that you retract too far and the cooled "hot" filament tip is deformed and causes extra tension/friction in the extruded liner.</li> </ul>

2018-12-17T17:46:24.213

|print-quality|filament|pla|extruder|flashforge-adventurer-3|

<p>My Flashforge Adventurer 3 is not printing properly. Filament feeder makes repetitive loud thumping noise and not enough filament is extruded. Resulting print (if completed) is not solid.</p> <p>Results vary with filament. Flashforge brand (red) PLA works best. Any other filament fails completely unless I print at High quality, with head temperature at 235 degrees. Nozzle has been un-clogged repeatedly, but right from the start, when feeding filament in, it does not flow through properly. </p> <p>I had used the included tool to clear blockages in the extruder several times before now, but after posting this question I tried again. Ordinary use of the tool made no difference. So I applied more force, and, pushed filament through by hand directly into the extruder and used a pin to try to clear the extruder. It now appears to be working adequately Not perfectly. I am able to print with default settings. It still thumps -or ticks- a bit. I am alarmed at the amount of force I had to use to clear the extruder blockage. </p>

7683

Flashforge Adventurer 3 Filament feeder loud thumping noise, not enough filament extruded

<p>I have had the same issue with mine. And the clicking was indeed calibration. When you're doing the paper part, I make sure I move the axis up one point from the bed allowing enough room for the filament to lay and adhere. If it still thumps after, check for a clogged nozzle (which you’ll have to do anyway if you have attempted countless failed prints from not being calibrated correctly) I can guarantee there’s a blockage at that point it’s just a given if you think about it. Also, I did read above that someone experienced the nozzle being in fact .3 mm instead of .4 mm.</p> <p>I believe this to be true as well. All of their models seem to not be sized right. Therefore, path extrusion needs to be adjusted as well when all is said and done. Good luck</p>

2018-12-17T18:35:33.537

|ultimaker-cura|extrusion|creality-ender-3|retraction|

<p>I am trying to stop the stringing that occurs on one of my prints, I have set it so that it retracts the filament which does stop it during the extrusion of the outer wall layer, however when it comes to print the inner lines of the section it does not retract at all (the extruder gear does not move back).</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/QiXLw.jpg" rel="noreferrer" title="Outer Wall Line Prints Without Stringing"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/QiXLw.jpg" alt="Outer Wall Line Prints Without Stringing" title="Outer Wall Line Prints Without Stringing"></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/nedQS.jpg" rel="noreferrer" title="Inner Wall Line Prints With Stringing"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/nedQS.jpg" alt="Inner Wall Line Prints With Stringing" title="Inner Wall Line Prints With Stringing"></a></p> <p>I am using Cura as my slicer and I cannot find any setting that would change this. My current retraction settings are as follows:</p> <pre><code>Enable Retraction - On Retract At Layer Change - On Retraction Distance - 7 Retraction Retract Speed - 40 mm/s Retraction Prime Speed - 30 mm/s Retraction Extra Prime Amount - 1 mm3 Retract Before Outer Wall - On </code></pre> <p>I am not sure how to stop this from happening, any suggestions that you can make will be greatly appreciated.</p>

7684

Extruder doesn't retract on inner wall lines thereby causing stringing

<p>Cura has a setting called <code>Combing</code> that is enabled by default. This stops the printer from retracting if the travel is contained within the walls. It does this to speed up the print but you get oozing during the travel since the plastic is still in the melt zone. You can change this setting to no skin which will stop it from combing on the skin layers or turn it of completely.</p>

2018-12-17T21:47:17.720

|heated-bed|electronics|safety|

<p>I recently switched from Bang-Bang to PID controlled bed heating. The stock firmware pulsed On/Off with about 5 seconds each cycle. Now with PID, my bed keeps its temperature much more stable, the frequency is around 7Hz. </p> <p>Although the total amount of energy used for heating should be less now since the heating is more efficient and doesn't waste energy by cooling down, I am a bit concerned of the fast pulsing of the rather high amperage (around 13 Amps in my case).</p> <p>So I was wondering, do the faster cycles cause more stress on the components (I am thinking MOSFET on the board and components inside the PSU) or is this negligible? I am particularly curious since this is a rather low budget printer (Anycubic i3 Mega, $350 printer with a generic unbranded PSU) and I don't want to push its limits too much.</p> <p>The only thing I can observe is a very faint noise with the same frequency as the pulses. Might have been the same on 5 second cycles, I was just not paying attention to it back then.</p> <p>I'd be very glad if somebody could chime in on this.</p> <p>Thanks in advance.</p>

7686

Heatbed PID vs Bang-Bang - which one is more stressing on components?

<p>The frequency of the cycle shouldn't affect the efficiency as such, however more might be lost due to physical properties. Fast should cause less stress on the printed part, unless it hits a resonance frequency, which it unlikely.</p>

2018-12-18T15:52:45.867

|ultimaker-cura|desktop-printer|

<p>I'm trying to enter the settings into Cura for the printer. </p> <p>The manual has a screenshot of what they should be:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/0iKne.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/0iKne.png" alt="Suggested settings, from manual"></a></p> <p>However, when I run Cura and try to enter the settings I'm presented with different options:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/s7Uux.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/s7Uux.png" alt="Available machine settings (Printer)"></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/T7w2A.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/T7w2A.png" alt="Available machine settings (Extruder 1)"></a></p> <ul> <li>How do I translate the settings from teh screenshot into the settings I have available?</li> <li>Should I be concerned about the settings that aren't available to enter? <ul> <li>Are they important?</li> <li>Do I need to enter them somewhere else?</li> </ul></li> </ul>

7696

Adding a custom printer to Cura

<h1>Your manual is in another Castle!</h1> <p>The manual you look at is for <strong>Cura (1) 15.04.</strong> You are however using <strong>Ultimaker Cura 3,</strong> most likely the most recent 3.6.</p> <h2>Quick references</h2> <p>The machine setup is for the <a href="https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/52029-manage-printers" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>physical</em> settings of the machine</a> - build volume, nozzle diameter, coordinate system and such.</p> <p>The <em>other</em> settings you refer to are <a href="https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/52340-quality" rel="nofollow noreferrer">all set in the right bar</a>, but you will have to switch from simple to advanced mode, and possibly activate the settings you need.</p>

2018-12-19T21:54:25.530

|print-quality|desktop-printer|

<p>I've just joined the 3D Printing world and am <em>patiently</em> waiting for my printer to come in next week. I've been thinking about keeping my printer in the garage so that it stays out of the way of every day life. </p> <p>Since I am in the Midwest, I was wondering if this is the best plan. Is it okay to store and use my printer when the ambient temperature can get as low as 10&nbsp;&deg;F (about -12&nbsp;&deg;C) and as high as 120&nbsp;&deg;F (about 50&nbsp;&deg;C)? Would the cold affect my prints substantially, mainly using PLA, PETG and some TPU? Would larger prints, spanning days, affect the filament on the spool?</p> <p>Note that I am solely talking about the printer. I plan on keeping the filaments inside the house so they won't be bothered by the temp extremes.</p> <p>My google searches came up with nothing and I didn't find anything on the supplier from which I purchased my printer. I doubt that it matters, but in case it does, my printer is the Creality CR-10S</p>

7710

Ambient Temperature Range for Printer Storage/Usage

<p>Printers are electrical machines. They don't like water, so they also don't like condensation in them. If you can keep your garage <em>dry</em> and prevent a sheet of metal inside it from rusting, then your printer might survive the problems the shifting temperatures induce by condensing water vapor on the electronics.</p> <p>Another thing to consider is, that at negative degrees Celsius, your printer might trigger a mintemp error, as the minimum temperature allowable is usually defined as 0&nbsp;&deg;C or higher. On the other hand, low temperatures might allow to bridge further than other days, as the cold air absorbs the heat from the prints faster. It could cause other problems like clogging or under extrusion due to low temperature though. </p> <p>High summer temperatures might impact the print quality, causing quite some extra sagging.</p> <p>The Filament on the machine in a garage might be impacted because of the humidity changes, but might be mitigated with a drybox.</p>

2018-12-20T15:05:43.267

|calibration|

<p>To check my leveling etc. is correct I was going to print a wide and thin cube. My theory being that I should be able to spot any obvious separation of the layers.</p> <p>Does anyone have any better shape that they print as a dry run?</p>

7726

Calibration print shape

<p>Your calibration shape depends on what you want to calibrate on. Among the most popular:</p> <ul> <li>Benchy as a general "overall" test.</li> <li>Lattice Cubes for retraction/stringing and overall quality.</li> <li>Two pillars to test for stringing and temperature/cooling control.</li> <li>Spikes for retraction, stringing and temperature/cooling control.</li> <li>Bridges for cooling control. </li> <li>Cubes for sizing. They also allow seeing if the printer is skewed in X or Y.</li> <li>Circles, crosshairs, and squares of just a couple layers high to determine the correct center of the print area and measure sizing.</li> <li>Cylinders in each other to check the achievable resolution and clearance.</li> <li>Overhang tests to test just overhangs.</li> <li>Temperature towers for temperature and overhang.</li> <li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3092557" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Impact</a>¹ &amp; <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3118965" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bend</a> &amp; <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:483171" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Tension</a> test pieces for filament properties - if you have the setups needed.</li> </ul> <hr> <p>^{1 - I couldn't find a proper model for an <em>ISO 148-1 Charpy pendulum impact test</em> in thingieverse}</p>

2018-12-21T13:05:11.170

|print-quality|heated-bed|calibration|print-failure|

<p>The first layer is very patchy indeed. I've calibrated the build plate pretty accurately but even if it was a badly calibrated build plate I don't think it would have this effect.</p> <p><a href="https://imgur.com/S4KsNA3.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://imgur.com/S4KsNA3.png" alt="Patchy First Layer."></a></p> <p>It doesn't <em>seem</em> to have a negative effect on the print.</p> <ol> <li>Should I be concerned about this? </li> <li>Is this due to a the build plate fault?</li> </ol>

7740

Evidence of a warped build plate?

<h2>I'm having the same problem but worse.</h2> <p>Some parts of the print are squished and towards the middle I will have bad or no bed adhesion. I always have to print with a raft or else the first layer will fail.</p> <h3>Borosilicate glass</h3> <p>From what I've read online the best solution it to replace the build plate or add a pad on top of your build surface. The most recommended one is borosilicate glass. It has good heat conductivity and is very stiff.</p>

2018-12-21T18:39:06.110

|3d-design|slicing|post-processing|support-structures|

<p>I have a STL file with a rather large roughly-spherical object. I'd like to 3D print it to be fairly large, and hollow inside. Since the printer I'd be using has a max size of (18–20 cm)^3, I'd have to print this in pieces and then reassemble them into the sphere-like shape. The textured surface of the object is important, but small seams would seem unavoidable.</p> <h3>My Question</h3> <p><strong>How could I 3D print a hollow sphere or sphere-like object that's too large for the available basic 3D printer?</strong> </p> <p>Because this would need to be done in parts, it's more complicated than the designs I've made. Because the final product is roughly spherical and hollow (i.e. nothing is nicely angular), it's trickier than some other designs. </p> <p>(I have little experience with 3D modelling/CAD, so I'd <em>somewhat prefer</em> solutions with minimal advanced steps such as designing my own joints and whatnot...but advanced steps are definitely okay if part of a great solution!) </p> <h3>My Ideas So Far</h3> <p>I know I could cut the sphere roughly in (e.g.) eighths via planar slices, print the eight pieces individually, but then the question is how to attach them. I am also concerned that the seams might be too noticeable. (Perhaps there's a better way?)</p> <p>I could just glue the pieces together. My fear then is that it would lack internal structural support if they were attached <em>only</em> at the outer layer (unless the skin thickness were excessive, at least near the boundary). </p> <p>I imagine I could give the pieces internal supports with dowel joints or snap-fit joints (e.g. <a href="https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base/how-design-snap-fit-joints-3d-printing" rel="nofollow noreferrer">these</a>), but I lack knowledge of how to do that and don't know whether that would even work well. </p>

7749

How could I print a large sphere-like object?

<p>A sphere can be put together quarters easily, but those need support in the center. However, there is a slightly different cut is more economic:</p> <ul> <li>Cut a top and bottom "plate" off, print them separately, the lower one "upside down"</li> <li>Cut the remaining piece into quarters <ul> <li>For more equal printing, maybe even cut them along the equator too and print the lower half "upside down"</li> </ul></li> </ul> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/7nhN9.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/7nhN9.png" alt="A simple sphere, cut off top and bottom, then quartered"></a></p> <p>This way, the support material can be reduced to a minimum - only the top and bottom will need any support, and it is easily accessible to smooth it away.</p> <p>If the walls would be something like one millimeter thick, any good glue should work. If you want to reduce the visible seam, you might bevel the faces, so that the wall has a little gap on the <em>inner</em> wall. As most glues shrink as they harden, it will flatten into the "gap", evening out the internal face. </p>

2018-12-22T14:54:24.457

|print-quality|pla|makerbot|

<p>Current main problem is that at various points during a print, one layer doesn’t attach well to the layer below it. That is what appears to be causing the artifacts in the second picture below, but the picture may not show it clearly.</p> <h2>Background</h2> <p>I have a Makerbot Replicator 5th generation printer. This is the one that is very locked down. As far as I know it can only use the slicer it comes with, Makerbot print, but I'd be happy to be told otherwise. It only prints in PLA and @Trish gave some good advice on drying out the filament. I've also leveled the print bed. Prints have improved from where they couldn't even finish to now where they just aren't very good quality.</p> <p>The issue I'm having now seems to be primarily that one build layer sometimes doesn't stick to the one below it very well. Then they peel up and the nozzle pulls them and re-melts them into a blob. I've attached two pictures. It's worse in the first one, then I lowered the first model layer fan setting from 50% to 45% and it improved and I was able to get the print in the second picture.</p> <p>Any help on what settings I can change would be great. Is this because it is underextruding? I think I'm stuck with whatever setting options are available in the Makerbot.print software.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/wJZOS.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/wJZOS.jpg" alt="First" /></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Htl1j.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Htl1j.jpg" alt="Second" /></a></p> <h2>Print settings</h2> <p>The default print temp for this printer is 215. This is at 210 degrees, but those blobs aren't actually burned they are a mix of the previous red filament that was on the outside of the nozzle. The travel speed is 150 mm/s, First model layer print speed is 30mm/s, Raft to model shell vertical offset is 0.26mm, Raft to model vertical offset is 0.33mm (I can't tell what the different between those is), z-offset is 0 (default), Layer height is 0.14mm. In the second picture the print was attached but separated easily from the raft.</p> <p>A couple more settings that might matter is the Print speed: Outlines is 20mm/s, and the Print Speed: Infill is 90mm/s</p> <h2>Update 3/15/19</h2> <p>I made several of the changes suggested including lowering the temperature, leveling the bed, adjusting the Z-offset, and lowering the infill speed. I also continued to dry the filament in a dry box with a lot of desicant that I dry periodically. The desicant seemed to make much more difference than drying the filament at 50C for a couple hours. Print quality has improved a lot, but isn't great. I'm coming to the conclusion that the filament has been damaged by poor storage. It has been left in a drawer in a humid, hot room over the past summer or more.</p> <p>I'm still using a raft because prints fail completely without it and work reasonably well with one so I have no problem using a raft. Now most of my problem is blobs of filament that I think are running down the nozzle from the heater core. I may have to take some timelapse video to figure that part out. I'm also having some stringing which may be a filament quality issue and some layer shifting.</p>

7756

Makerbot Replicator (5th generation) poor print quality

<p>You can use other slicers with a Makerbot Replicator 5th gen. <a href="https://www.simplify3d.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Simplify</a> works pretty well so I'd look into that. It's not free but a good program.</p> <p><em>All</em> the slicer needs to be able to do is export in <code>.makerbot</code> so Simplify is the only other slicer I have found.</p>

2018-12-23T21:52:08.163

|slicing|stl|

<p>I'm in dire need to reprint a small chunk of a print that got messed up during print because the support for it broke which I cannot explain whatsoever.</p> <p>Anyway. I need to edit the STL file and I don't know what tool to use since Blender is definitely not user friendly for just a simple cut and past.</p> <p>Anyone got an idea on what I should try to do? Reprinting is definitely out of question since that would take at least another 20 hours, that I haven't got, to reprint the whole thing and I would also just waste a lot of PLA.</p>

7765

Need help to only print one small part

<p>I would recommend to use FlashForge in the future(I know that you already solved the problem, but still), the slicer program that I use as well. Blender is not very good for tasks like slicing, as it is rather for creating the actual models you would like to print. Programs like FlashForge provide you with a kind of preview of the model, which is better for slicing as you can see the expected result. Another good thing about FlashForge is that you can push models you created with Blender down in the Z-axis and then slice it off at Z=0 , so you can just use your old model without having to change/modify anything about it.</p> <p>However, as you didn't specify on what printer you are using, I couldn't make sure if FlashForge is compatible with your device. Please send me a comment so that I can come back to this later on, if it is not compatible, there will still probably be a comparable program to FlashForge.</p> <p>Please also keep in mind that in order to fit the two prints together to get the model you would like in the first place, you need PLA glue or something like that for assembling the two pieces, as well as a roughened surface to apply it to.</p> <p>I hope this helps you in the future, Kind regards, Max</p>

2018-12-24T10:38:41.803

|anet-a8|

<p>My Anet A8 suddenly had issues with being unable to heat the bed. After ruling out software issues, I disconnected the connector and found this (sorry for the terrible quality):</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/7WYfE.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/7WYfE.jpg" alt="Faulty connector: left male, right female, indicator on the burnt pin"></a></p> <p>The left most pin on the male connector (bed) is also charred. How could I best repair this?</p>

7771

How to repair burnt heat bed connector?

<p>Owning an Anet A8 I confirm that the connectors are not rated for the amount of current that pass through them. <strong>You do not need a new bed unless the heat element has burned through</strong> (but that is pretty uncommon, it usually is the connector). This burning of the bed connectors is a very well known problem of the Anet A8 printers; these connectors are just not rated for the current and the movement of the bed. It is best not to use a connector at all! And yes, the Anet A8 default printer firmware does not have any build in protection for <a href="/q/8466">thermal runaway</a>! It is always advised to immediately flash another firmware, e.g. <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/tree/1.1.x/Marlin" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Marlin firmware</a>. </p> <p>The best repair is to get some high quality silicone AWG 14/16 wires and solder these directly onto the back of the pins of the connector. Also crimp forks to the other end to connect the wires correctly to the printer board.</p> <p>What I did was cutting up the connector to leave only the 2 middle pins (for connecting the bed thermistor, which does not use much power) and soldered the red wire to the left 2 pins and the black to the right 2 pins. You can do that at the back side of the socket where the pins make an angle.</p>

2018-12-24T17:55:03.473

|print-quality|ultimaker-cura|monoprice-maker-select|

<p>I have a <a href="https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13860" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Monoprice Maker Select v2</a> printer which has a printing height of 7".</p> <p>I tried to print this <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2638524" rel="nofollow noreferrer">trophy</a>.</p> <p>The first time I printed, it stopped about 3/4 of the way (about 5.5").</p> <p>I use Ultimaker Cura to move the model's z-position down, effectively splitting it in half to print the top half. But on the 2nd print, it seems to have stopped at the same point. There was a lot of extra PLA filament curled up at the end.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kVw02.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kVw02.jpg" alt="Printer trophies"></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/oKWbq.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/oKWbq.png" alt="Slicer view"></a></p> <p>Did my printer just jam or am I missing a setting that allows it to print the remaining top portion?</p>

7774

Why does my model stop printing at the same spot?

<p>The answer is that you have not used support structures. The printing fails as a result of missing support structures.</p> <p>If you look closely to the Ace of Clubs card at the top, you will see that the lower point is being printed from out of nothing, this corner needs to be supported. When unsupported, the extruded filament flows freely and where it deposits is unknown. Usually this extruded filament sticks to the nozzle or ends up stuck at the next piece of the printed layer building up. This build-up can cause the head to hit the print and ruin the print.</p> <p>To enable support in Ultimaker Cura configure your setting accordingly:<br> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LUJip.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LUJip.png" alt="Support settings"></a></p> <p>These settings are accessible when you select custom settings:<br> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/4XyaQ.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/4XyaQ.png" alt="Advanced or custom Ultimake Cura settings"></a></p> <p>If the options aren't visible, use:<br> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/sAFhw.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/sAFhw.png" alt="Search for settings in Ultimaker Cura"></a><br> and type in the option.</p> <p><em>Please do note that using supports does not guarantee that the print will not fail! Especially when using long slender support structures, the chance that a support structure fails increases with the amount of support structures and the length of the structure. Sometimes long slender support structures are knocked over.</em></p> <hr> <p><em>Sidenote:<br> Your printer has more issues, if you look at the brim, it is not a continuous bed adhesion layer, it looks like it does not adhere too well, see also the bottom of your trophy.</em></p>

2018-12-24T20:26:50.463

|ultimaker-cura|slicing|infill|print-orientation|

<p>I have an object that has cutouts in it (alignment pins fit in the cutouts). The shape of the hole is a right triangle with the point clipped off to create a flat surface in the deep part of the hole.</p> <p>When I print the object in vertical orientation the wall in the deepest part of the cutout is printed properly. But when I print the same object laying down flat on the build plate, the internal wall is not printed and I can see the infill grid through the hole where the wall is supposed to be. </p> <p>I sliced the object with a slicer based off a recent Cura version. I'm using the same STL to print the object vertically and horizontally.</p> <p>Why is this occurring? Is there anything I can do about it other than printing vertically? (Because I have a need to print the real part horizontally. The part shown here is just a thin test piece.) Thank you <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/s3p0E.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/s3p0E.jpg" alt="Same object showing vertical / horizontal printing orientations"></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LB0ES.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LB0ES.jpg" alt="The horizontal print position does not print the inner wall of the hole"></a></p> <p>Here is a picture showing what the (Cura-derived) slicer does with the model in horizontally-printed position. I checked the layer display in the vertically-printed instance, and the missing wall was correctly rendered and visible.</p> <p>I guess this is some kind of a slicer bug.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/f3hg3.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/f3hg3.jpg" alt="Layer view showing the missing back wall"></a></p> <p>Here is a large-scale picture of what the cutout shape looks like. This picture is of the protrusion tab that fits into the hole. But the same shape was used to cut the hole in the object.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/v07oz.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/v07oz.jpg" alt="The shape used to cut the hole"></a></p> <p>Here is another instance of the same problem. This time, I made up a simple block component, a simple cylinder component, aligned the cylinder into the block volume, and did a combine/cut operation in Fusion to cut a hole in the block (visible in the STL file). As you can see from the (Cura-derived) slicer layer image below, the same problem exists - no wall at the back of the cut when printing in the horizontal position. If I draw a sketch on the block and extrude/cut into the block, I get the same results. I also tried cutting the cylindrical hole, creating a "tin can" shell cylinder with an explicit bottom-of-the-can surface, sliding the open can into the cut hole, and joining the can to the block. Same results. The explicit bottom 0.5 mm surface of the can disappears in the horizontal slicing position. Strange.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/162io.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/162io.jpg" alt="Simple cylinder component used as a cutting tool to cut into a block shows the same missing back wall problem."></a></p> <p>UPDATE:</p> <p>The test object is just a simple block with a cylinder extruded into the block as a cutout. As simple as simple can be. I have determined that Cura 3.5.0 works properly (Cura v3.6.0 is available). </p> <p>I am using the Qidi slicer v5.0.7 latest, which uses an earlier version of Cura (I don't know which one; I have sent them an email to find out).</p> <p>I have determined that the Qidi slicer behaves properly if the cutout cylinder diameter is 6mm or larger. But at 5mm, the slicer will not generate a back wall in the cut. The square/triangular cutouts in the example objects below are all 5 mm or less. My installed Cura 3.5.0 generates a proper back wall even at 5 mm. Therefore, it must be a bug in the Qidi slicer, which uses an older version of Cura. </p> <p>As a workaround, I will increase the size of my cutouts to 6 mm. When Qidi updates to a newer version of Cura (they are currently using 3.3), the problem should go away.</p>

7776

Internal wall does not print in horizontal print orientation

<p>I found the answer with the help and inspiration of other people above. Their words reminded me that I could check Cura too, to see if it had the problem. Cura v 3.5.0 did not have the problem. The Qidi slicer v5.0.7 (based on Cura 3.3) correctly generated a back wall if the cutout was 6 mm or larger. At 5 mm, the Qidi/Cura slicer did not generate a back wall. I entered a ticket with Qidi about the problem. I expect the problem will be resolved in their next version. Thank you to everyone for your help.</p>

2018-12-27T17:16:34.997

|3d-design|software|file-formats|

<p>I recently downloaded Magicavoxel to give this voxel thing a try, and I was curious if there was a way to turn the voxel files into a file for printing?</p> <p>Magicavoxel doesn't seem to offer a way to export the project as STL.</p>

7796

How to print a voxel object?

<p>Magicavoxel supports export as <code>.obj</code>, natively or with the right <a href="https://gist.github.com/shivshank/34ffc56283273e1e904e8dc50491a7a6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">plugin</a>.</p> <p>While <code>.stl</code> is the standard for 3d-printing exchanges, as it contains a "1-unit" length,(typically that corresponds to 1 mm), <code>.obj</code> is also accepted by most slicers.</p> <p>To get to MagicaVoxel's native export, look in the lower right corner, click export and see this pop up:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/f7bMf.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/f7bMf.png" alt="Export menu"></a></p> <p>Press the top-left <code>OBJ</code> option and you get a save position window where you can store it. Then open it with your slicer and choose a scale - most <code>.obj</code> files do not contain a scale as the format does not contain a unit measure by default like <code>.stl</code> and has to be given one.</p>

2018-12-28T22:15:47.987

|diy-3d-printer|calibration|z-axis|

<p>I'm using Simplify3d and a DIY 3D printer. The printer works fine and I've printed very nice objects with very smooth and beautiful surfaces BUT they are twice as tall as they should be! It is like they're scaled double in Z axis! I've checked everything, I changed steps/mm from 4000 to 2000 but it ruined the smooth surface. changing layer height just makes smoother surface and doesn't solve the problem. What am I missing in the settings? <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Cs6KO.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Cs6KO.jpg" alt="on the left is printed after changing step/mm from 4000 to 2000 (almost correct height) and on the right is printed with 4000 step/mm twice as tall! "></a></p>

7804

Calibration of Z axis in Simplify 3D

<p>The steps per mm in firmware is the link to the hardware configuration/setup. Reducing by half must reduce Z advance by half. If your prints are twice as tall, you must have serious under-extrusion problems as when the printer is laying down molten filament for e.g. a 0.2 mm layer, in effect this is a 0.4 mm layer. If this is not the case, you should also <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/6483/how-do-i-calibrate-the-extruder-of-my-printer">calibrate the extruder</a>.</p> <p>Please re-calibrate your machine Z axis in firmware (most firmwares allow command <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/G-code#M92:_Set_axis_steps_per_unit" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><code>M92</code></a> to set the steps per mm), not in Simplify3d, and then the extruder.</p>

2018-12-29T23:09:59.503

|tpu|

<p>I recently got a Dremel 3D20, and I understand it only takes PLA filament according to the Dremel site. However, I was wondering if anyone has successfully used TPU filament or knows it will work fine. I’m more than happy to use other software to change the temperature, I just don’t want to gunk up or otherwise ruin my printer.</p>

7818

TPU Filament in Dremel 3D20?

<p>I've never used a Dremel printer, thus I cannot guarantee that my solution will work fine, but you might want to give a try to the <a href="https://ultimaker.com/en/products/ultimaker-cura-software" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ultimaker Cura</a> slicer. </p> <p>Ultimaker printers have Bowden tubes, like the Dremel, unless I am mistaken, and I've been able to successfully print TPU on my Ultimaker 3 Extended printer. I also know that many Ultimaker users have printed using Ninjaflex without much problems on their Ultimaker machines, both old and new.</p> <p>Ultimaker Cura comes with pre-programmed settings for TPU95, which is the Ultimaker brand of TPU, then I guess you'll have to fiddle a bit with settings to find what works best with your Dremel. Take a look around <a href="https://community.ultimaker.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ultimaker's forums</a>, many users have other printers beyond their Ultimaker printers, you might be lucky and find some useful information. The 'search' feature of the forum works quite nicely.</p> <p>Quick summary of the settings for TPU95A in Ultimaker Cura for a 2.85 mm Bowden setup:</p> <ul> <li>Layer Height: 0.2mm</li> <li>Printing Temperature: 225°C</li> <li>Print Speed: 25 mm/s</li> <li>Cooling Fan Speed: 20%</li> </ul> <p>Depending on how the Dremel performs and the quality of your TPU, you might want to disable retractions, it's been known to help.</p>

2018-12-30T06:28:21.413

|creality-ender-3|troubleshooting|

<p>My attempted prints on my Creative Ender3 of model: <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2QflT.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2QflT.jpg" alt="This is the spinning top totem from the movie Inception."></a> <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:23686" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:23686</a></p> <p>The print uses support structures (generated by Ultimaker Cura) failed in the same location twice. It is printed in PLA (1.75&nbsp;mm) first print at 200&nbsp;&deg;C, second print at 196&nbsp;&deg;C.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/4TQUp.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/4TQUp.jpg" alt="Failed print 1"></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/FXSM2.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/FXSM2.jpg" alt="Failed print 2"></a></p>

7823

Basic Spinning Top Prints Fail in Same Location

<p>To me, it looks like your G-code induces an incomplete layer of support on the still standing piece, which later down leads to the print failing.</p> <p>Re-slice the whole thing.</p> <p>As a matter of fact, I would cut the model in its widest place and print both with the large face flat on the surface and glue the two pieces together after printing. That way I can achieve:</p> <ul> <li>no need for support material</li> <li>maximum adhesion</li> <li>no surface problems on the transition from the support to the print</li> </ul>

2018-12-31T00:30:06.857

|pla|heated-bed|post-processing|

<p>Recently got an Anycubic I3 Mega Printer and I've been playing with what it can do, but after a model is done it leaves residue on the build plate behind that is bugging me. Do I NEED to remove it? If so, how? Thanks! (I'm using PLA if that matters)</p> <p>My Problem: </p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/pupIz.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/pupIz.jpg" alt="Residue left on build plate"></a></p>

7831

How to remove exess filament from bed after removing model

<p>I have had moderate success with a product called <a href="https://googone.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Goo Gone</a> (don't laugh). It quite remarkably lifts off any number of "sticky" items from various surfaces.</p> <p>I work with PLA filament that is very hard and stubborn to remove from any surface.</p> <p>I own a FlashForge Adventurer 3 that appears to have a carbon fiber build plate. Nothing, except a #11 XActo blade, can harm that. </p>

2018-12-31T23:30:24.843

|pla|post-processing|smoothing|

<p>What kind of primer should I be using for my PLA prints?</p> <p>I want to be able to sand the object after applying the primer for a smooth finish before painting.</p> <p>Would something like this work?</p> <p><a href="https://www.bunnings.com.au/dulux-duramax-325g-plastic-primer-spray-paint_p1400720" rel="noreferrer">https://www.bunnings.com.au/dulux-duramax-325g-plastic-primer-spray-paint_p1400720</a></p>

7839

Sandable primer suitable for PLA?

<p>There are generally 2 types of operation you might want to do before priming your object:</p> <ul> <li>smoothing to a point that you are comfy with and </li> <li>roughing pass with very fine grit to give the primer something to stick to</li> </ul> <h1>Smoothing via Sanding &amp; Filler</h1> <p>To smooth your object you generally have two options: </p> <ul> <li>Only sand down (and possibly vapor-smooth) and account for the lost size in the design phase. <ul> <li>Vapor-smoothing can flatten away surface details you might want to preserve, so it might not be an option at all.</li> <li>While vapor smoothing is possible with more than just Acetone on ABS, the price tag for those chemicals is usually more expensive by a factor of 20 or more due to the fact that Acetone is pretty much dirt cheap as far as chemicals go - and easily accessible via home depot.</li> </ul></li> <li>Fill up with body filler in areas you want and sand smooth afterward. <ul> <li>This is very labor intensive, especially for complex shapes.</li> </ul></li> </ul> <p>Only after you filled up the structure to be somewhat smooth you apply paint primer. In itself, common spray on primers often are not <em>filling</em> enough to hide away the printing layers.</p> <p>For rough surfaces that need a starting fill, a paste body filler applied with a spatula works best, and for the last pass over a just lightly scratched surface, automotive body filler from a spray can works great. The benefit of spray-can body filler is, that it also acts as a first roughing step, so you don't need to roughen the surface for the primer. If you grab a filler-primer, even skip the primer.</p> <h3>Sidenote from experience:</h3> <p>Some filler-primer and lacquer spray cans seem to contain solvents that are able to soften PLA.</p> <h1>Smoothing via Coating</h1> <p>A random find on <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2951822" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Thingiverse</a> showed me another way to paint and flatten the surface faster and without sanding, at the cost of details getting smoothed away:</p> <ul> <li>Apply a thin paint coat.</li> <li>Apply a thin coat of a fast drying, transparent Polyurethane coating onto the <strong>wet</strong> paint.</li> <li>Let the combined layers dry with extra air flow to prevent noses.</li> <li>Repeat as needed.</li> </ul> <p>It works by picking up the wet paint and embedding it into the thicker Polyurethane layer, which dries much smoother than the paint itself, filling up the imperfections and the steps between layers. This process will however also fill up non-masked surface details you might want to preserve.</p> <h1>Your product in mind</h1> <p>The primer you took a look at works on PLA, but it would not smooth out all the dimples. It might work nicely for the PU-Buildup variant.</p>

2019-01-02T16:02:21.283

|print-quality|print-material|pet|

<p>I want to print a transparent PET bottle for my homemade lemonades and thought about 3D-printing them.</p> <p>I would like the printed bottle's quality to be as fine as a Coca-Cola PET bottle for coke and the printing substrate or material be something that's cheap or readily available. I thought I might recycle some old PET bottles to print the custom one for my lemonades as I don't want something that would require me buying new materials or re-exporting from the manufacturer.</p> <p>Is it possible to recycle PET and print it into food-certified containers?</p>

7855

Can I 3D-print a PET bottle?

<h1>No, due to 3 reasons</h1> <h2>PET is not (easily) printable.</h2> <p>There is a lot of confusion on what Filaments you can buy: <strong>most times filament branded PET is actually PETG, sometimes PETT.</strong></p> <p>PET is not an easily printable material at all. With expert knowledge and the right machine settings it <em>can</em> be printed, but even then, it is not as easily recyclable into a useable 3D-printer-filament as you might think. You need full reprocessing capabilities, which means the need for machinery to allow thorough cleaning, grinding to dust, melting it up, pelletizing and finally extrusion as a fresh filament.</p> <p>The closest related material that is easily printable is PET<strong>G</strong>, a modified PET that also contains glycol. You can't convert PET into PETG with home or hobbyist applications at all - they are <a href="http://blog.wheaton.com/pet-vs-petg-what-is-the-difference/" rel="noreferrer">totally different</a> in their chemical behavior, even as just one material was added in production. PETG is not brittle like PET, it does not haze on heating, but it ages in UV light, scratches easily and can't be autoclaved like PET. But the chemical modification has to be done during the initial manufacturing of the material, and it is <a href="https://blog.teqnow.com/pet-and-petg-a-bad-combination" rel="noreferrer">a huge mess</a> to try to recycle the two together, which can and will happen if you try to work with material you source from recycling.</p> <blockquote> <p>“When they’re processed together, PETG melts and becomes sticky while PET remains solid. PETG sticks to PET chips and forms large clumps that pose processing problems.” ^{<a href="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2017/10/24/pet-resin-code-changes-california/" rel="noreferrer">Resource Recycling</a> (magazine/blog)}</p> </blockquote> <h2>3D printed objects are very unlikely to become food certified.</h2> <p>You can't easily manufacture (certified) food-rated printed products, like food containers due to the requirements that a machine that manufactures food-certified products needs to comply to. I advise looking at <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/6941/8884">this answer</a> regarding food rating for more elaboration.</p> <h2>It is hard to print really transparent with FDM.</h2> <p>Due to the method how FDM works - extruding lines next to each other - it is often impossible to print fully transparent objects right of the bat - there is <em>almost always</em> air inside a printed object, and there are so many boundaries between the extrusion paths that refract and change the photon paths that the best one can achieve somewhat easily is translucent (=semi-transparent). Read <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/3516/8884">this answer</a> for further information.</p> <p>But if you manage to get the object <a href="https://learn.colorfabb.com/lets-make-something-clear/" rel="noreferrer">really solid</a>, you might get some near-transparent, icy results from some orientations while looking in others still will look matte.</p> <p>To get them fully transparent you <strong>then</strong> will have to <a href="http://fenneclabs.net/index.php/2018/12/09/3d-printing-transparent-parts-using-fdm-fff-printer/" rel="noreferrer">post-process</a> them to become fully transparent by grinding the surface up to 4000 grit, but that is very labor intensive and most likely not possible for the inside of a bottle. To be clear, you spend hours polishing one surface.</p> <h1>Could it be economic in the slightest?</h1> <p>On a side tangent, the viability of printing a bottle via buying new ones will need to be expored. <em>Shapped</em> PET Bottles with caps start at \$0.01 per piece and top out at \$1 per piece - you get the better prices if you order in larger quantities. You will have to compete with getting under \$1 per bottle, or rather with what the price of a typical bottle you want is.^alibaba.com</p> <p>A typical PET bottle ordered from China weighs 30 g for a 300 ml bottle, and the particular example I looked at comes \$0.22 to \$0.28, depending on the bottle cap, with a minimum order of one parcel with something around 300 items. That seems to be in the average range.</p> <p>A roll of 1 kg of PET(G?) filament starts at ~\$30 at the moment. That is the weight of 33 shaped bottles per roll. Your print will most likely be heavier than the blown up bottle to get it watertight, but let's just assume you might manage the same weight. Then it's about \$0.90 in the material alone - so we are at more than 300% of a bought product with cap already!</p> <p>Atop that comes the running cost of the printer, which depends on your print time, printer and electricity price. I know my hobbyist machine comes, maintenance and electricity combined, down to 0.21€/h, so roughly \$0.25. Printing a bottle will take <em>several</em> hours.</p> <p>PET preforms that can be blown up to almost <em>any</em> bottle shape, type and size and ship much cheaper come to prices due to better density. Which means you compete against \$0.015 to \0.15 per bottle in material costs.</p> <h3>Conclusion</h3> <p>It is not economically viable to even attempt to print bottles beyond a prototyping stage.</p>

2019-01-04T00:08:32.683

|troubleshooting|print-failure|monoprice-maker-select|

<p>Here's what it looks like <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/XjFer.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/XjFer.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>This is the model <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2991851" rel="nofollow noreferrer">thingiverse linky</a></p> <p>It looks like it couldn't print the edge, but this happened many many hours after printing the brim.</p> <p>This did not happen with my 1st attempt at this print. The last print lost adhesion and I had to scrap it. This time, adhesion looks good so not sure why this happened.</p> <p>Printing with Monoprice Select V2 with ABS, sliced with Cura. 100C bed / 250C extruder. 15mm/s initial layer speed. 60 mm/s print speed.</p> <p><strong>Update</strong> It looks like the printer is starting to smooth it out like so. Still not sure if this will lead to an ok print or will fail because of this layer. And it seems the stringing area does not have a brim underneath it. Did Cura just not calculate the brim size correctly? <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kKMYw.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kKMYw.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p><strong>Update2</strong> Here's a few screenshots from Cura to show that the model is lying completely flat. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iywA2.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iywA2.png" alt="cura1"></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/DvtBr.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/DvtBr.png" alt="cura2"></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kc7Xh.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kc7Xh.png" alt="cura3"></a> I let the print go on overnight and here's where I stopped it <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/HPNrX.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/HPNrX.jpg" alt="top view"></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/6XRvv.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/6XRvv.jpg" alt="side view"></a> It almost seems like the print shifted completely after printing the initial layer. Have you ever seen anything like this or is there anything in my Cura model that would make it do this?</p>

7867

What causes this "stringing" and can my print recover from this?

<p>Both @Oscar and @Trish have identified the problem in their answers. Upon further investigation, I believe I found the root of the problem.</p> <p>The Monoprice Select V2 has what I think is an inherent design flaw with how its wires are routed. The wire can sometimes (1) get caught on the frame (when the y-axis is moving towards its maximum position), (2) get caught between the frame and the print bed preventing the y-axis from reaching the minimum position, and (3) it even hits the y-limit-switch sometimes.</p> <p>Here's a backview of the printer where you can see problem (1) where the wire can get caught by the frame. You can also see the y-limit-switch and I saw first-hand when the wire bundle caught it, forcing another layer shift in my print. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/nrbpL.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/nrbpL.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>For problem (1) above, I found this solution seems to help <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1218943" rel="nofollow noreferrer">thingiverse link</a></p> <p>To resolve all of the wiring issues, you have to unwrap the wires and reroute them. People online say this voids the warranty.</p> <p>The wire jamming doesn't always happen. But when you printer moves back and forth along the y-axis hundreds of times for a large print, there's a high probability it snags at some point. This is very frustrating after many hours of printing. And I'm thinking of getting another printer for this reason.</p> <p>I should note that it looks like Monoprice's next version printer, the Monoprice Select Plus, doesn't seem like it would have this problem since the control unit is integrated and the wires don't seem like they would be in the way.</p>

2019-01-06T04:45:55.790

|bed-leveling|monoprice-maker-select|

<p>I have a Monoprice Select v2 that I just bought less than 2 months ago. I've manually leveled it on several prints prior.</p> <p>I noticed a couple of holes in my print bed after my last print, like the extruder pushed into the sheet really hard. They're both on the same side.</p> <p>I then noticed that the extruder's horizontal bar wasn't leveled so I leveled it. I did this by unplugging the wire to one motor and modified the z-position so that the other connected side would go up. (Is this the proper way of adjusting the horizontal bar?)</p> <p>And then I moved the extruder back into its Home position at z-position 0. That's when I noticed that it seems my extruder barely reaches my print bed even though I have the screws almost loosened to the point of detaching from the thread.</p> <p>The extruder z-limit-switch (I think that's what it's called) seems to be pressed so the extruder is as far down as it can go. The controls also show that the z-position is at 0.</p> <p>So I'm guessing my print bed somehow lowered. But I don't see how that could possibly be.</p> <p>Any ideas?</p> <p>Here are some photos but I'm not even sure what to show really</p> <p>you can see the z-limit-switch in the right of this pic next to the letter A's <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/jj6hS.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/jj6hS.jpg" alt="pic1"></a> you can see my extruder still has some distance to go before reaching my print bed but you can also see that my screws are loosened as much as possible <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/NUOdX.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/NUOdX.jpg" alt="pic2"></a> showing the horizontal extruder bar is now leveled <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/RyK5o.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/RyK5o.jpg" alt="pic3"></a></p>

7881

I can't level my bed any more

<p>For leveling your bed <strong><em>you do not require the use of a bubble level</em></strong>! This is not necessary, if you do, <strong><em>you need to place the printer on a bubble level underground</em></strong>. It is far easier to level the bed relative to the printer frame rather than to the outside world. Basically the bed and the X-axis (the axis that moves your nozzle) need to be parallel and each side of the X-axis needs to have the same distance to a reference point on the frame.</p> <p>In order to level your X-axis you need to position both of the sides at a certain, same distance <strong><em>from a reference point on your frame</em></strong>, e.g. you could measure this with respect to the top of the Z stepper attachments. If you have 2 steppers, it is easy as you can individually move them by turning the lead screw when the stepper motors are not powered. Once you have each side at the correct distance you can commence a homing sequence and start leveling your bed.</p> <p>You mention that you are running out of threads for proper leveling of the bed while the Z minimum limit switch is pressed/activated. What you need to do is lower the switch a little so that you have some extra height available. If the switch is at the lowest, you could consider drilling extra holes or filing it down, or print one of the Z-adjustment mods that can be found on the web. This should be enough to level your bed properly. Leveling can be done cold or hot, the difference is that the heat expands the plate a little or causes some changes in the shape of the bed due to the expansion or uneven heating. This difference is usually very small, but sometimes causes your prints not to stick to a hot plate when leveled cold.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/MEwsv.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/MEwsv.png" alt="Level bed with respect to X-axis"></a></p>

2019-01-07T07:37:34.100

|pla|ultimaker-cura|slicing|

<p>I am trying to print an item with a rectangular grid (using PLA on Ultimaker 2+):</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/RHcqX.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/RHcqX.png" alt="item with a grid"></a></p> <p>Holes are 4x4 mm, distance between holes (wall thickness): 1mm. I am printing with 0.4 mm nozzle.</p> <p>Unfortunately, Ultimaker Cura generates G-code which prints each rectangle on its own and in a quite a bad way:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/I7nE6.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/I7nE6.gif" alt="print preview"></a></p> <p>The printer head tries to draw a rectangle, then moves in the direction opposite to a last laid line, which with not perfect adhesion of single line messes up the print pretty badly: it often picks up last rectangle side and drags it.</p> <p>Any way to change the way Ultimaker Cura approaches to lay out the grid? I would imagine that long lines that are connected to other lines would adhere to bed much better than individual squares, but I don't see any options that would allow to alter it.</p>

7891

Printing rectangular grid

<p>Perhaps a slicer is not the ideal tool for this application. It should be possible to use the slicer to generate a 'framework' file, doing coordinate conversions, setup and such, and then write raw G-code or a script to do so.</p> <p>Whether you find that a desirable approach is another question.</p>

2019-01-07T15:54:09.763

|pla|3d-design|

<p>Recently, I did discover that it might be possible to print <a href="https://learn.colorfabb.com/lets-make-something-clear/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">fully solid</a>, air free and thus optical homogenous, even with PLA.</p> <p>How can I design a proper focusing lens (or rather: single sided lens with a flat bottom) with this, ignoring the <a href="http://fenneclabs.net/index.php/2018/12/09/3d-printing-transparent-parts-using-fdm-fff-printer/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">post-processing</a> needed to get the surface smooth?</p>

7905

Designing lenses

<p>To calculate the focal length of an optical element, the two main factors are the refraction index and the shape of the lens.</p> <p>For a cylindrical lens with one optic active side (that is, one domed or bowled side), we can ignore the whole bottom cylinder and just take into account the top dome. The shape of the dome is determined by the radius of the circle that created it.</p> <h1>Thin, single sided lenses</h1> <p>For a thin, single-sided lens the rather complicated Gullstrand’s formula to calculate the focal length of lenses becomes rather simple:</p> <p><span class="math-container">$f = \frac {r}{(n-1)}$</span> for the bend facing the object</p> <p><span class="math-container">$f = \frac {r}{(1-n)}= \frac {-r}{(n-1)}$</span> for mounting it in reverse.</p> <p>A <a href="https://polymerdatabase.com/polymer%20physics/Ref%20Index%20Table%20.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Polymer database</a> did give a refraction index of PLA as <span class="math-container">$n=1.465$</span>.</p> <h1>Thick, single sided lenses</h1> <p>For a thick lens with a total thickness of <span class="math-container">$d$</span> and one active side, we solve first for the one active side, and then insert: <span class="math-container">$$f_1=\frac{r}{n} \land \frac {-r}{(1-n)} ; f_2=\infty ; P_i = \frac 1 {f_i}$$</span> <span class="math-container">$$P=P_1+P_2 -P_1P_2\frac d n ; P_2\to0$$</span> <span class="math-container">$$f=\frac{1}{P_1}=f_1$$</span> As long as one side of our lense stays flat, the thickness of the lense is mathematically not relevant (save for increasing dispersion).</p>

2019-01-07T17:21:15.440

|ultimaker-cura|adhesion|rafts|brims|

<p>I'm trying to build an assembly with one larger part (about 50&nbsp;mm&nbsp;x&nbsp;50&nbsp;mm), two small parts (about 10&nbsp;mm&nbsp;x&nbsp;5&nbsp;mm) each, and one part that starts with two 2&nbsp;mm&nbsp;x&nbsp;2&nbsp;mm squares that eventually bridge into a sort of flap. The larger part has decent adhesion for a couple of layers, but the small parts are slipping off the table right away and the nozzle drags them onto the large part since it's the last part being printed in the group, resulting in some stringing.</p> <p>My bed is adequately leveled and can print larger models well so my suspicion is that the small parts are too small for good bed adhesion and need a brim or a raft to increase the surface area. Is this correct? If so, is there a way in Cura to add a brim or raft to the small parts and not the large part? Ideally I would print all pieces at once instead of the large part separate since I will be doing batches of these assemblies in the future.</p> <p>I'm using Ultimaker Cura 3.6, printing with PLA filament set to 200&nbsp;&deg;C at nozzle and 60&nbsp;&deg;C on the bed.</p>

7907

Setting up a brim/raft for only a portion of the overall print

<p>This post is quite old, but I describe how I solved this for anyone has the same problem I had: areas moved by the nozzle as the base of some appendices are too thin and tall.</p> <p>In Cura 4.8 (I don't know since which version this feature is available) it is possible to add some custom shapes (cubes or cylinders) to your model. You can find this tool after move, resize, etc,, in the prepare page (left side icons).</p> <p>So you can add some custom supports to protect from falling/moving some areas of a single model that need to be kept in place. These added parts can be moved and resized as you would do with the any other imported model.</p> <p>I found this very useful to avoid that the nozzle moves parts with a small base area that are connected to the rest of the model on a higher level and the lower part is not stable enough. Especially when printing TPU or other flexible filaments.</p>

2019-01-08T09:26:21.183

|3d-models|

<p>I am looking for a font, which is connected and has a good line width (so that it can be 3D printed). Something like in the image below:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/aHIKP.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/aHIKP.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>Something like in the image above would be great, but I don't know the name. Do you have a suggestion for a font?</p>

7915

Font suitable for 3D printing

<p>That particular font is <a href="https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Sarina" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Sarina Regular</a> and is part of the Google Fonts collection. Just Google "connected handwritten fonts" to find more. Kimberly Geswein does a good selection of handwritten fonts. A lot of them are constant width, but most are unconnected.</p>

2019-01-08T14:45:17.120

|troubleshooting|adhesion|creality-cr-10|

<p>I've been having some bed adhesion problems that I have been trying to solve by leveling the bed. I think that it's pretty level now but when I start a print the lines seem pretty flat. Is this true? I used a feeler gauge to have a 0.2 mm gap between the bed and nozzle, but the center feels as though there's more space, despite the tape (ie I didn't feel any resistance when leveling the center) so I'm not sure if the plastic is too squished or not.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/GKkPC.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/GKkPC.jpg" alt="Top View"></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/3SbVq.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/3SbVq.jpg" alt="Side View"></a></p> <p>I am printing PLA with 210 °C at Nozzle and 60 °C on bed. I also used a 130% extrusion factor for the first layer on a Creality CR-10S. It did come without a black print surface but with a glass sheet and a roll of painters tape instead, so I opted for Blue-tape.</p> <p>Also, I see some stringing, which seems to happen with skirts and brims (this is my first brim) and a bit of under extrusion in the center. But those are probably concerns fit for a separate question.</p>

7918

Bed too close to nozzle?

<p>I cannot stress enough how much purple glue stick helps with this exact problem.</p> <p>I had a cheap XYZ printer that I used nearly half a spool of filament on trying to align and get prints to stick. After ten hours straight of hair pulling and desperation, I smeared some purple glue stick across the build plate -- worked like a charm. Works great even just on bare glass, although I usually use blue tape underneath.</p> <p>Also had one of those cheap Monoprice MP Mini and a 3D Solutions Cube which both benefited greatly from the glue stick.</p> <p>I've had a few cheap printers that I carried with me for educational purposes in a backpack and I'm sure the alignment wasn't ideal, but the glue always made it work perfectly.</p> <p>Elmer's makes one, I picked up a 3 pack of cheap ones on Amazon with great success.</p>

2019-01-08T15:28:58.513

|pla|hotend|

<p>After a brownout a print failed and it got the whole hotend covered in PLA. I am now in the process of replacing some parts on the hotend (one of the thermistor legs broke of) and also wanted to take the heater cartridge out. The problem is that the bolt that locks the heater cartridge is stuck and I am now afraid to strip the head.</p> <p>Is there a trick to remove the bolt with the smallest probability of stripping the head? Is it better to apply heat or not? Should I soak it in Acetone or some other solvent? etc.</p>

7920

Heatercartridge bolt stuck

<p>I got a blob of around 5 x 8 cm out of PETG! Setting extruder temp to PETG or even a little higher. I did it all with an older soldering iron. Simply (but carefully!) go with the point into the blob and take it slowly off. With a copper 'toothbrush', I cleaned the extruder and nozzle more times.</p> <p>After mostly all was down I started with the first layer test (Prusa MK3S+) That was surprisingly almost perfect. Then started to print not very high subjects like rings etc. With that several burned drops came down during printing. Use the 'toothbrush' as many times you can between the first prints!</p> <p>Done without any damage to the printer as a whole!</p>

2019-01-09T03:35:54.493

|print-quality|pla|

<p>Today I was printing some parts and I got these burn marks at the corners:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/D8b3n.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/D8b3n.jpg" alt="1"></a></p> <p>This is the first time I see this on this printer (Anycubic I3 Mega). I was using more or less the same settings (in Cura) as always, although I was using a new roll of PLA from a brand I haven't used before.</p> <p>I was printing several parts in one job:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/p56Kp.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/p56Kp.jpg" alt="2"></a></p> <p>Most of them are somewhat affected:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/8MqTq.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/8MqTq.jpg" alt="3"></a></p> <pre><code>Printing temperature: 200 °C Build Plate Temperature: 60 °C Printing Speed: 60 mm/s Travel speed: 200 mm/s </code></pre>

7931

What causes burnt corners?

<p>Could be a dirty nozzle and temperature too high. When the head changes direction on the corner, the nozzle wipes off burnt PLA. This might explain why there are no dark marks on the long runs and only the corners.</p> <p>Heat nozzle up and clean with acetone and then see if the problem persists.</p>

2019-01-12T12:51:04.407

|filament|infill|

<p>When I'm printing with my Chromatik filament white, 1.75 mm in diameter, I observe a gap between the infill and the walls (see picture).</p> <p>Everywhere on the web I can find explanations for this kind of problem (apparently it's the symptom of loose belts), but I have this problem for <strong>this filament only</strong>. I have the filaments Chromatik electric blue and Octofiber black and I don't have this issue with them. I tried to increase the temperature by ~10&nbsp;&deg;C, but it didn't have much effect.</p> <p>Have you ever seen that guys? I repeat, it's with <strong>this filament only</strong>.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/vX225.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/vX225.jpg" alt="Print showing infill and wall not touching"></a></p>

7957

Gap between infill and walls for one filament only

<p>I have observed similar issues between walls, not necessarily between the infill and the walls.</p> <p>It is most likely that the viscosity of this filament is way different (less fluid) than the other filaments you print. Not only mechanical issues (to be precise: inaccurate positioning e.g. caused by loose belts) could play a part in this, but also printing speed. A more viscous filament needs more pressure and time to get the filament through the nozzle. This is exactly what happened in my case, because of different wall speed line settings (inner and outer), the filament did not flow fast enough leading to under extrusion. In your case you probably also have a higher infill than wall speed, so lowering your infill speed may mitigate your problem. Also, most slicers have an option to define the overlap between the infill and the perimeters/walls, you could also increase that for this filament.</p>

2019-01-12T15:45:14.487

|heated-bed|replacement-parts|repair|

<p>My ender3 came with a BuildTak-clone surface, and as I was a little too vigorous in getting the print off the bed (I had failed to level right and printed a bit too tight to the bed, resulting in SUPER strong adhesion), I needed to replace it.</p> <p>Peeling off the black was easy. The plastic sheet that held the glue was easy too... but how to clean up the bed to get the residue glue off and prepare for the new 3M sticker?</p>

7960

How to clean up my build plate for a new build surface?

<p>Following up from <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/7960/how-to-clean-up-my-build-plate-for-a-new-build-surface#comment20164_7960">Charles Duffy's comment</a>, I can confirm that adhesive remover containing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limonene" rel="nofollow noreferrer">D-limonene</a> is an effective way of removing remaining glue when replacing an Ender-3 platform sticker. While “Goo Gone” was named in the comment, I used a similar product, Goo Buster.</p> <p>Goo Buster turned the glue residue into a water soluble gel that was easily removed using a plastic scraper, with final clean up using a wet paper towel. While D-Limonene has a pleasant citrus fragrance, it is an irritant, and these adhesive removers typically also contain petroleum products and surfactants.</p> <p>As ever, use care when using solvents near electrical devices such as 3D printers. Ensure the device is isolated from power and all parts are clean and dry before operating.</p>

2019-01-12T21:16:44.563

|print-quality|extrusion|troubleshooting|fdm|

<p>I just switched to the Duet Wifi board (used MKS Gen L 1.0 before) and now small structures look terrible. From my observations the hot end moves correctly, but almost no filament gets extruded. On the other hand larger structures look very good. With the MKS board the exact same G-code worked fine. After that I gradually disabled many features like coasting, wiping and even retractions altogether, the quality only improved by a tiny margin.</p> <p>Example print (the two towers should be cylinders): <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/jE94g.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/jE94g.jpg" alt="Example print"></a></p> <p>Additional information:</p> <ul> <li>Printer: JGAurora A5</li> <li>Material: PETG</li> <li>Slicer: Simplify3D</li> </ul> <p>More info (edit):</p> <ul> <li>Hot end temperature: 225&nbsp;°C (for the affected layers)</li> <li>Bed temperature: 60&nbsp;°C (I corrected the thermistor data, it's equivalent to 70-75&nbsp;°C on other JGAurora A5 printers)</li> <li>Nozzle diameter: 0.4&nbsp;mm</li> <li>Part cooling fan: 100% (improved cooler duct by Da Hai Zhu)</li> <li>Print speed: 50&nbsp;mm/s (50% for outline)</li> <li>The cylinder is printed hollow because of my infill settings</li> <li>Lubricant is fresh, belts are tightened, so there should be no mechanical issues</li> </ul>

7963

Small structures are deformed after switching to Duet Wifi

<p>The OP found the solution and shared this in comments but has not written a proper answer. The OP found:</p> <blockquote> <p>To complete this, the issue was related to the part cooling fan not spinning correctly. After replacing it the problem was gone.</p> </blockquote>

2019-01-13T21:55:11.213

|z-axis|simplify3d|

<p>I have a Robo 3D R1+, and I'm using the default Simplify3D profile for it. When I finish a print, I notice that my X gantry is way out of level. The right side is visibly higher than the left side. So much so that it won't even auto-level on the next print. What that tells me is during the print, the Right z-axis is moving up faster than the left. It also ruins the print.</p> <p>I do not believe this is a hardware issue, as when I use the Craftware slicer, it works properly (I tried the same model with both slicers). Is there a setting or something I need to adjust in Simplify3D to get this to print properly?</p> <p>If you would like to see the G-code for the CW and S3D models I was testing with, you can download them here:</p> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/18AgUz30uFjGnh6iU6_Lybo8kYQD1MK_h/view?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow noreferrer">G-code download (Google drive)</a></p>

7965

Z-axes out of sync with Simplify3D

<p>What you are describing is not possible as a result of changing slicers, this must be an intermittent hardware issue.</p> <p>The <strong><em>slicer has no knowledge of the hardware layout</em></strong> of your machine (other than the build volume and gantry dimensions; if properly configured), it just creates slices of the model you present which are found in the G-code file as Z movements. In case multiple Z steppers are used to move the X gantry, these are usually driven by a single driver, but if they are separately controlled, even in the G-code file the instruction would be to move up Z in total, not per stepper. It is the <strong><em>firmware of the 3D printer that translates this Z level in movement</em></strong> for your 3D printer based on the layout of the machine and the firmware settings.</p> <p>The CraftWare G-code file does show some inconsistencies with respect to the Simplify3D file in that it does not use <code>G29</code> and has a too large first layer height of 0.45&nbsp;mm (this is larger than you nozzle diameter of 0.40&nbsp;mm, you should always limit that to about 75&nbsp;% of your nozzle diameter).</p> <p>For an X gantry to become unlevel/skew, there must be a mechanical issue that is causing it to miss steps/prevent advancing at one side. It is possible that one of the shafts or lead screws has some more friction than the other (generally it is not a good idea to grease the screws as dirt easily stick to the grease, a light oil may be better suited). This is not uncommon for Prusa i3 clones and is usually fixed by resettling the leadscrew nut by loosening and tightening the screws which attach the nut to the X gantry idler. It is unclear if this is your problem here with this specific machine.</p> <p>To be fair, uneven displacement of any axis powered by 2 separate motors (driven by separate drivers) could be induced by the slicer when <strong><em>unrealistic</em></strong> high accelerations and incorrect hardware/electronic settings are employed.</p>

2019-01-15T18:45:45.133

|pla|hotend|anet-a6|

<p><strong>Printer:</strong> Anet A6</p> <p>I'm gaving some trouble with a loose hot end. I was trying to peel of some PLA when I noticed the whole thing was kinda loose. I could pull it out very easy. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/XHfEW.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/XHfEW.jpg" alt="Loose hot end"></a></p> <p>So I tried to put it back, but it's verry loose and I don't know what exactly is wrong. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/VE753.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/VE753.jpg" alt="Put it back in"></a></p> <p>I'm not sure if I broke something, or doing something wrong. Does anyone know how to fix this or do I need a new extruder or hot-end?</p> <p>Kind regards.</p> <h1>Update:</h1> <p>As Trish said in the accepted answer, the heatbreak is broken. When I've opened the extruder it became more clear:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Dyssw.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Dyssw.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/fjqKp.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/fjqKp.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>I'm happy cause this is a fix for about 10 euro.</p>

7979

Extruder get loose

<p>I am sorry to inform you, but your picture looks like your hotend has a broken heatbreak. The heatbreak is the screw that connects the heater block with he coldend.</p> <p>Your first picture clearly shows that the tp 2 or 3 windings of the screw are ripped off. Probably from tightening the nut against the codend carriage and this way applying tremendous force - the lower picture hints that it was tightened far too strong.</p> <p>You are lucky however, as replacement heatbreaks are easy to come by and cheap.</p>

2019-01-15T19:39:01.503

|extruder|change-filament|monoprice-maker-select|

<p>Printer: Monoprice Select V2.</p> <p>I've done several prints already and swapped out filaments many times but in my most recent swap, I can't feed my PLA through any more.</p> <p>I first preheat my extruder for PLA temps (185&nbsp;&deg;C). Then I press the plastic thingy to allow me to push as much of the filament into the hole as possible. Then I adjust my extruder position to try to suck it in. Usually after a few mm, I start to see the filament come out of the extruder and I also feel a pull on the filament from the top. But nothing is happening now.</p> <p>However, if I adjust the extruder position in the opposite direction, it eventually pushes the filament back up and out, so I guess the "stepper motor" (is that what it's called?) is working (at least in one direction).</p> <p>I'm getting ready to open the extruder module up to see what's going on, but wanted to see if anyone had any simple ideas for me to try before I unscrew anything.</p>

7982

Why won't my filament feed through the extruder anymore?

<p>I figured out the issue. I think I was shoving it in the wrong hole.</p> <p>I took apart my extruder component. There's a good video on it <a href="https://youtu.be/37df_c2hqYE?t=194" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>. But basically, you just have to loosen the two bottom screws on the side fan like this: <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/KAO15.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/KAO15.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>I checked everything out first. I cleaned the extruder head with the included pin. I also shoved the filament through the heated area and filament came out ok. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/uLz5D.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/uLz5D.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>But then I discovered the filament could go in the wrong way sometimes through the extruder.</p> <p>This is the correct way for the filament to go through. It should come out of that plastic hole. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/m0aaR.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/m0aaR.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>But once in awhile, I accidentally pushed the filament through this way. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1BxoK.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1BxoK.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>If the filament was bent and I pushed the lever too hard, it would often find its way down the wrong path. So I played around with how much force I should be holding down the lever and how hard I should be pushing the filament through.</p> <p>I don't know if other 3D printer extruder feeders are designed this way, but seems error prone. Or maybe it's just me.</p>

2019-01-16T09:20:42.000

|filament|filament-quality|

<p>I've been 3D printing for a while and I've noticed that, when printing small parts, my colored plastics (PLA, PLA+ and ABS) have better layer adhesion than black ones.</p> <p>Did you notice this?</p> <p>What could be the cause?</p>

7987

Are black filaments more brittle?

<p>I have some experience in the textile industry and it is known that items, whether piece goods or yarn, which are black (for most fibers) it is likely an over-dye; colors that failed to match the color that was intended, goes into a pile for black re-dye. It is easy for most fibers to over-dye something black. I imagine that for filaments it is something similar. My experience with black filaments is generally one where black breaks easier, and generally you can find PLA on sale if it is black.</p>

2019-01-16T12:04:55.947

|print-quality|support-structures|monoprice-maker-ultimate|

<p>I'm having a lot of difficulty removing support material without damaging the print.</p> <p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/wUyNe.jpg" alt="Support material"> <img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/chXd9.jpg" alt="Support marterial"></p> <p>Are there any tips/tricks to doing this or is it just a case of sanding, cutting, chopping and then cleaning it up as best I can?</p> <p><strong>Settings</strong></p> <ul> <li>Printer: Monoprice Ultimate</li> <li>Filament Temp: 200 °C</li> <li>Plate Temp: 60 °C</li> <li>Material: PLA</li> <li>Slicer: Ultimaker Cura <ul> <li>Placement: Everywhere</li> <li>Angle: 20°</li> <li>Pattern: Concentric</li> </ul></li> </ul>

7989

Difficult to remove support material

<p>It is recommended that you try &quot;tree support&quot; in the &quot;experimental&quot; module of settings.Also,before removing the support, blowing with a hot air gun to soften the support material connected to the model may achieve good results.</p>

2019-01-16T13:39:33.697

|print-quality|filament|pla|creality-cr-10|

<p>I own a Creality CR-10 (using Ultimaker Cura for slicing) and I am experiencing terrible printing problems.</p> <p>My problem: I am not able to print anything that takes several hours to print. For parts printed in 30 minutes or so, my printer usually works.</p> <p>The prints end up like this (unfinished and with a lot of stringing)</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/OyQrG.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/OyQrG.jpg" alt="fail"></a></p> <p>This below is actually the best result I got so far.. (important note: there is no under extrusion during the print, it suddenly stops out of nowhere..) <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/CGeTY.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/CGeTY.jpg" alt="fail2"></a> (Although I have to use terrible retraction settings and need a lot of post processing because of all the stringing - you might have an answer for that too.. I just couldnt get the 3d printer to print parts properly with good retraction settings.)</p> <p><strong>The problem is that at some point of the print, no more (PLA) material is extruded and the printer moves without actually printing anything. The first couple of layers usually work (you can see that in the images) but after wasting almost 600 grams of PLA, I am not able to find a solution myself.</strong></p> <p>.</p> <p><strong>I have some suspicions:</strong></p> <p>Could the problem be the angle, the PLA is inserted into the feeder? (so that it is almost a 90 degree bend)? The filament comes from a spool in the right hand side. But I dont think that this would cause such a problem..</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/7CHIe.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/7CHIe.jpg" alt="Angle of inserted filament"></a></p> <p>Is it a software problem? Here are all my cura settings (I even reduced the printing speed to 30mm/s at 205°C - still didnt work..) :-(</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/qKcvg.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/qKcvg.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kXKwS.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kXKwS.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/lpbKs.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/lpbKs.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>Could the length of the bowden tube and it tangling up be a problem? (as you can see in the image below) <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2SoCm.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2SoCm.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p><strong>And annother important thing: The feeder always grinds into the filament (even at those low retraction settings) and it is always very hard to pull the filament out of the bowden after a failed print. Sometimes its almost impossible and i have to use heavy tools for it.. that should be the probelem</strong> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/oZnhq.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/oZnhq.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>I already did some atomic pulls, replaced the nozzle and switched the bowden tube.</p> <p><strong>I have a dream: My printer printing a part without any stringing and actually finishing the print. Please help me to achieve this dream..</strong></p> <p>Thank you for your help in advance. :)</p> <p>(and the filament I used, sorry for the bad quality of the pic) <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/vzH9u.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/vzH9u.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

7992

Filament extrusion always stops at some point during print

<p>I had the same thing! On my anycubic I3 mega.</p> <p>Tried a lot of stuff and got so sick of it so I installed a 10:1 gearbox on my extruder motor. So now it provides 10x more torque and since I havent got the issue anymore where the extruder is just grinding on the filament and the motor is just skipping steps. </p> <p>No because of this and because my anycubic won't connect to a pc I can't change settings on my printer so I resolve the ratio with 1000% flow in my cura settings. And other stuff is also affected.</p> <p>But at least it won't stop and just be sitting there and skipping steps.</p>

2019-01-20T20:07:06.073

|print-quality|extrusion|troubleshooting|creality-ender-3|

<p>I have an Ender 3 that I have been pretty happy with so far, however it recently started an odd behavior and I can't figure out what's causing it. </p> <p>What happens is that the first ~3&nbsp;mm of the print comes out "sloppy". After that, everything clears up and it prints fine for the rest of the print. (Although it perhaps looks a little under extruded on the top layer)</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/0UAfD.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/0UAfD.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>It looks almost like it's over extruding. But if that's the case, why would it only be for the first 3&nbsp;mm? Then the top layer looking under extruded makes that possibility even more unlikely.</p> <p>This is consistently happening regardless of what I am printing, the brand of filament (I only print PLA), or the bed temp or hot end temp. I've tried tweaking with the bed leveling and giving a little more gap on the first layer, but that doesn't seem to change anything either. I also calibrated the extrusion multiplier and it's spot on now. </p> <p>I use Ultimaker Cura 3.6 as my slicer. I tried resetting back to defaults to see if maybe I had inadvertently changed something but that didn't help either.</p> <p>I have done a few upgrades - Marlin firmware, Capricorn tubing, glass bed, replaced the (broken) plastic extruder with one of the metal ones, new PTFE fittings. I didn't notice the problem until recently so I can't say if it started corresponding with any of those upgrades. </p> <p>When I first got it, the prints came out beautifully from the first layer, so this is really frustrating me. I'd like to get it back the way it was.</p> <p>Any suggestions on where to look?</p> <p>Update: I did some slightly more controlled experimemts and I did get it looking a little better. It does seem related mostly to bed tempurature. The cooler I make the bed, the better it looks. However as it gets cooler, the prints are also starting to warp and break loose, so the print ends up failing completely. I had a hard time getting a successful print below about 45 degrees, and even at that temperature it still isn't completely clean. I'm using glue stick for adhesion and it just doesn't seem able to hold it without some heat. I traditionally have run around 50 degrees before this problem started though, so it seems odd I have to drop below that now.</p> <p>Also, for more info, the cube dimensions are pretty close in the X and Y, but were about .5mm short in the Z. So the layers do seem to be settling. </p> <p>I did check the bed temp with a non-contact thermometer and it was consistent with what the printer reported, so it doesnt seem to be a bad thermostat throwing things off.</p>

8022

First 3 mm prints poorly, then fine after that

<p>I solved the problem by adding a second Z-axis leadscrew. The problem was that I could have either too tight Z-axis rollers or a sagging gantry. Both of this lead to the nozzle rubbing over the print. In case of sagging, rubbing on the right hand side of the print and a too large distance on the left. In case of too tight rollers, rubbing on the whole print or on whichever side had the tight rollers.</p> <p>If you don't want to invest in a dual leadscrew setup, turn the excentric nuts that fix the rollers of the gantry to the Z-axis; making sure that they are tight enough but not overtight.</p>

2019-01-22T22:28:36.557

|octoprint|

<p>Is there a way to view more than the last 300 lines in the terminal tab on OctoPrint? Or is there a txt file of a log? Or even a setting/plugin that does either?</p> <p>I keep finding my prints pausing as if I said to change the filament even though that wasn't set in the slicer, but I catch it long after the 300^th line in the terminal so I can't see what OctoPrint is trying to do.</p>

8038

How to log more than 300 lines of the OctoPrint terminal?

<p>Serial logging has to be enabled. <strong>Warning: This will impact the performance of OctoPrint.</strong> Enabling this feature can be done under Settings -&gt; Serial Connection -&gt; Serial Logging and checking the box for &quot;Log communication to serial.log. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Hp3y4.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Hp3y4.png" alt="OctoPrint Settings" /></a></p> <p>One can download the log under Settings -&gt; Logging and finding serial.log in the list of log files.</p> <p>The file can also be found in the following directories (according to <a href="https://discourse.octoprint.org/t/where-can-i-find-octoprints-and-octopis-log-files/299" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this FAQ</a>)</p> <blockquote> <p>All log files that OctoPrint writes can be found in the logs sub folder in its configuration directory:</p> <ul> <li>on Linux: ~/.octoprint/logs</li> <li>on Windows: %APPDATA%\OctoPrint\logs</li> <li>on MacOSX: ~/Library/Application Support/OctoPrint/logs</li> </ul> </blockquote>

2019-01-23T03:19:03.197

|hotend|heat-management|cooling|

<p>I'm unable to use the parts cooler I printed. Every time I turn it on, the hot end temp drops too low, and for some reason the PID can't seem to get it back up:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/05cae.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/05cae.png" alt="Fan kicking on"></a></p> <p>This is a test to simulate the issue. The first drop is the fan kicking on, then the last bump is me turning the fan off. It's almost as if the set point drops when the fan kicks in. Any ideas? The PID is tuned (I ran the autotune) and works well without the fan on. This is a RepRap Guru Prusa clone.</p>

8041

Unable to hit hot end temperature with part cooler on

<p>This effect you describe is a commonly known problem that occurs when the print part cooling fan is not correctly positioned, i.e. if it blows air directly onto the nozzle or heater block and is best solved by printing an alternative part cooling fan duct. Alternatively you could insulate the heater block with some insulation cotton or silicone socks that fit over the heater block.</p>

2019-01-23T12:42:50.497

|filament-choice|

<p>Which filament is good for a coaster for a hot cup? </p> <p>I don't expect PLA to be good because it can easily melt under a hot cup.</p> <p>Note, I can't use ABS because I don't have an enclosed printer.</p>

8044

Filament choice for coasters

<p>Even if you pour in boiling water in a cup, the outside of the cup will have a lower temperature. When resting on a coaster, usually a small part of the cup actually touches the coaster. Also, the design of the coaster could influence the heat transfer, a more open structure of the coaster may be beneficial. Some people print coasters in PLA although the glass temperature (temperature at which the plastic becomes soft, this is usually the temperature of your bed when you print the material) may be lower than than the temperature of the cup, the filament will weaken (for PLA at about 50&nbsp;&deg;C), but not melt , melting of PLA happens at a higher temperature (for PLA above 150&nbsp;&deg;C) than your mug can get (unless you pour liquid metal in it). It should therefore be doable in PLA, I have printed a PLA coaster that has very small ridges (about 1&nbsp;mm) of an embossed image and placed a cup with boiling water on it, to find that the coaster is able to withstand the temperature of the cup without deforming (the ridges do not fail or deform).</p> <p>To elaborate on the filament materials other than PLA; there are many filament types that have higher glass temperatures, but are still very printable. Various types of co-polyesters exist, like PETG, that have a higher glass temperature (>&nbsp;85&nbsp;&deg;C), are a substitute for ABS and still very well printable. Nylon is also a material that can be used, there are brands that have low warp nylon.</p> <p>Note that there are a few options to print ABS while you have a non-enclosed printer, you could </p> <ul> <li>fabricate some cardboard pieces for a temporary enclosure, </li> <li>place the printer in an non-draft room or </li> <li>print the skirt height at the height of the print part.</li> </ul> <p>Note that coasters have a relative low profile height, it should not be that big of a problem to print ABS coasters on an open printer.</p>

2019-01-24T00:42:51.380

|support-structures|flexible|

<p>I need to print a flexible, hollow "sleeve" or "cover" for an elongated part, kind of like a soft "skin" for a "finger" (see pic). I'm not sure how to approach the hollow space problem, i.e. how to print a flexible surface that is above an enclosed, hollow space. I could print supports inside, but they'd be hard to remove from inside the space, because I can't quite access all corners with a tool from outside. I could print this in 2 parts ("bottom" / "walls" + "ceiling" separately), but I'd prefer not to glue if I don't have to. Any ideas how to approach this?</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/lTliF.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/lTliF.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

8050

Flexible filament how to print a hollow "sleeve"

<p>Print orientation is usually the key to print with a minimum of supports. If you print this part with the sharp point down, you will get some support structures on the outside for overhang support to prevent it from tipping over, but no support on the inside.</p>

2019-01-25T09:36:01.657

|petg|

<p>I've started printing PETG recently and I'm happy with results so far, awesome strength and good looking (except for stringing). But I've noticed that PETG prints better with more distance nozzle-plate than usual, and under-extrusion make parts looking better than both normal/over-extrusion.</p> <ul> <li>What distance nozzle-plate is optimal for PETG? (i.e. the distance between nozzle and build plate during calibration)</li> <li>What extrusion percentage is optimal for PETG?</li> </ul>

8059

PETG nozzle clearance and extrusion multiplier

<p>On my Ender 3 Pro's I have found the following works well (also remember settings can be effected by different brand/quality of filament):</p> <ul> <li>Bed to nozzle 0.2-0.3 mm,</li> <li>Multiplier 100 %,</li> <li>Nozzle ~230 °C/bed 70 °C,</li> <li>Speed 50 mm/s.</li> <li>Cooling off first few layers but from there cooling and retraction is part specific.</li> </ul> <p>If you use retraction, it may help to slow it down to 25 mm/s and adjust retract distance if your using Bowden tube or direct drive. Last, a must have, a can of hair spray, works great and less expensive than the glues.</p>

2019-01-29T06:35:23.410

|marlin|anet-a8|bed-leveling|

<p>I'm trying to get the ROKO (SN04-N) sensor to work with my Anet A8. First of all, while trying to screw it to the extruder, I tightened it too much and sort of broke the acrylic plate... sort of. I had to use a very thin steel plate with two holes to enforce the acrylic plate. It still works.</p> <p>Now, I followed instructions in this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY4GlbV4kGU" rel="nofollow noreferrer">video</a>. <em>(Please note that the video is not in English.)</em> After the first "Auto Home" operation, the guy draws on the bed and then measures. My measurements are slightly different.</p> <p>At the 19-minute mark, the guy is hard-coding the values but I don’t understand how he calculated them? My measured offsets are: <code>X_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER 16</code> and <code>Y_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER 58</code>. In his video, his calculations were 18&nbsp;mm for the X offset and 57&nbsp;mm for the Y offset. Either way, I’m not able to compile the code as a sanity check fails:</p> <pre> `static_assert(FRONT_PROBE_BED_POSITION >= MIN_PROBE_Y, "FRONT_PROBE_BED_POSITION is outside the probe region.");` </pre> <p>Here are the sensor limitation values from the configuration file:</p> <pre><code>// Set the boundaries for probing (where the probe can reach). #define LEFT_PROBE_BED_POSITION 20 //MIN_PROBE_EDGE #define RIGHT_PROBE_BED_POSITION 200 //(X_BED_SIZE - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define FRONT_PROBE_BED_POSITION 47 //MIN_PROBE_EDGE #define BACK_PROBE_BED_POSITION 200 //(Y_BED_SIZE - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) </code></pre> <p>What am I doing wrong?</p> <p>Note that I'm using Marlin Firmware v1.1.9</p>

8084

ANet A8 running Marlin v1.1.9 Auto Bedlevel with ROKO SN04-N

<p>Too bad you broke the acrylic plate (nice temporary fix though), but you can easily print a replacement part once your machine is up and running.</p> <p>Probe positioning is defined in the Marlin configuration as:</p> <pre> * +-- BACK ---+ * | | * L | (+) P | R -- probe (20,20) * E | | I * F | (-) N (+) | G -- nozzle (10,10) * T | | H * | (-) | T * | | * O-- FRONT --+ * (0,0) </pre> <p>This implies that your sensor is located on the back-right when facing the machine and need to have the following constants set:</p> <pre> #define X_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER 16 // X offset: <strike>-left</strike> +right [of the nozzle] #define Y_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER 58 // Y offset: <strike>-front</strike> +behind [the nozzle] #define Z_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER 0 // Z offset: -below +above [the nozzle] </pre> <p>In order to calculate the correct limits of travel for the sensor, you need to subtract the offset values from the bed size at the max limits.</p> <p>An additional offset may be required for some sensors, so please add an additional offset in the configuration by defining:</p> <pre><code>#define MIN_PROBE_EDGE 10 </code></pre> <p>As the sensor is off-center with respect to your nozzle, one can only assume that you have no extra space to move the whole printhead and therefore need to confine the head within the limits of the max/min bed size (there should be some extra space, this can be seen from the offsets for the origin as in values for <code>X_MIN_POS</code> and <code>Y_MIN_POS</code>, but for the sake of simplicity these will not be taken into account).</p> <p>Basically, your positive Y and positive X offset result in the following schematic. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ftdPk.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ftdPk.png" alt="Schematic of the bed and the sensor limits"></a></p> <p>Or, if you include the <code>#define MIN_PROBE_EDGE [value]</code> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/v2AGi.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/v2AGi.png" alt="Schematic of the bed and the sensor limits including MIN_PROBE_EDGE"></a></p> <p>Bed limits for the sensor then will need to be calculated based on the values of your offset of the sensor. E.g. when your nozzle is at (X=0, Y-0), or (0, 0), your sensor is at (16, 58). If you don't want to move the head further left and forward (to respect to origin as limit!), this is the minimum position of the sensor. When the sensor is at the back-right position of (220, 220), the actual head is at (220-16=204, 220-58=162).</p> <p>This means that the limits for the sensor without a minimum offset are (16, 58) and (220, 220):</p> <pre> #define LEFT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (X_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER + MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define RIGHT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (X_BED_SIZE - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define FRONT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (Y_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER + MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define BACK_PROBE_BED_POSITION (Y_BED_SIZE - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) </pre> <p>would translate with a <code>MIN_PROBE_EDGE = 0</code> to:</p> <pre> #define LEFT_PROBE_BED_POSITION 16 #define RIGHT_PROBE_BED_POSITION 220 #define FRONT_PROBE_BED_POSITION 58 #define BACK_PROBE_BED_POSITION 220 </pre> <p>and would translate with a <code>MIN_PROBE_EDGE = 10</code> to:</p> <pre> #define LEFT_PROBE_BED_POSITION 26 #define RIGHT_PROBE_BED_POSITION 210 #define FRONT_PROBE_BED_POSITION 68 #define BACK_PROBE_BED_POSITION 210 </pre> <p>The assertion in code: <code>FRONT_PROBE_BED_POSITION &gt;= MIN_PROBE_Y</code> would now translate to (58 >= 58) (or 68 >= 58), in your case it was (47 >= 58) which clearly is not true.</p> <hr> <p><em>Please look into <a href="/a/7399/">this answer</a>, <a href="/a/7465/">this answer</a> or <a href="/a/6874/">this answer</a> for more information.</em></p>

2019-01-29T23:11:59.720

|marlin|full-graphic-smart-controller|

<p>After uncommenting the <code>REPRAP_DISCOUNT_FULL_GRAPHIC_SMART_CONTROLLER</code>, the display is blinking and no characters are shown on the screen, I have already switched the cables between <code>EXP1</code> and <code>EXP2</code>, but it did not succeed.</p>

8091

LCD full graphic smart controller, no character display and screen blinking

<p>this problem can be solved by turning the slots on the display, as in the image below. Some Chinese displays are inverted from factory.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZXR8k.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZXR8k.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

2019-01-30T21:48:38.103

|fusion360|

<p>I made some 3D printed supports for tools, using screws to fix it to the wall, some of them broken because of the screw forces. Is there a way to reinforce only the screw holes where it will have more stress/compress? I am using PLA, Fusion 360 and Ultimaker Cura.</p>

8100

Reinforce screw holes

<p>In order to add localised extra walls, I will sometimes <em>cut</em> a torus shape around the part that I want to strengthen. This can result in n*wall, infill, n*wall, void, n*wall.</p> <p>See the images in this <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/7022/4927">answer</a> if the description is not clear.</p>

2019-01-31T05:16:12.187

|fusion360|

<p>I am trying to make a box that is 420&nbsp;mm wide by 86&nbsp;mm tall by 100&nbsp;mm long, I wonder if there is a good technique to design, cut, print and fit all parts together to be safe and hard. </p>

8103

Print box bigger than the printer bed

<p>Are you making a simple box? Or does it have some kind of detail or structure? The photo below exemplifies a structure attached to connectors that have been created outside of Fusion, but you can also use it as an idea to create your own!</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/VgKau.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/VgKau.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2d8vv.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Link to OPENSCAD LIBRARY</a></p> <p>If you are thinking of cutting into parts, you can also create a kind of male / female (puzzle) in the parts that fit. Something like that ...</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2d8vv.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2d8vv.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>Here is some interesting information to study <a href="https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base/how-design-snap-fit-joints-3d-printing" rel="nofollow noreferrer">How to design Snap-fit Joints for 3D Printing</a></p>

2019-01-31T12:11:22.043

|safety|mechanics|speed|

<p>Is there any risk of damaging stepper motors if I set too big travel speed? What is maximum safe travel speed?</p> <p>My printer is a German RepRap Neo.</p> <p>I currently use 120&nbsp;mm/s. Is it safe to increase this value to 200&nbsp;mm/s? What would my printer do if I set very big travel speed?</p>

8105

How fast can printer head move without damaging steppers?

<p>A high speed is unlikely to be reached unless you also set a high acceleration, and acceleration is generally more likely to cause a problem (unless you reach the pulse rate limit of the drivers).</p> <p>High acceleration will increase vibration, and critically requires higher torque from the motors. At some point, the torque will exceed the motor/drive current capability, and the motor will skip steps. As soon as this starts to happen, your print will become unusable.</p> <p>Before reaching the point of missed steps, you're likely to see other quality issues, but unless you're in a very hot environment, unlikely to see damage to the motor. Depending on the quality and heatsinking of the stepper driver, you might see overheating here (you can check for overheating of the board though).</p>

2019-02-01T07:03:26.667

|heated-bed|bed-leveling|adhesion|petg|glass-bed|

<p>I'm pretty new to printing PETG, and my Creality Ender 3 now has a glass print bed. I've done some research, and it looks like a pretty bad idea to try and print PETG on a pure glass surface for fear of the print pulling chunks of glass along with it.</p> <p>So, I've looked into various bed adhesion options. I've already used blue tape, but I'll need to purchase some wide stuff, and in the meantime, I want to investigate using PVA-based glue stick. However, one question does come to mind: how can I set the bed-nozzle distance after applying the glue stick layer?</p> <p>Do I even need to? Will the extruded plastic just crush it into the build plate without a problem, saving me the trouble of lowering the build plate? My normal method of sliding a paper sheet under the nozzle at Z = 0 mm would take the glue stick layer along with it if I tried that.</p>

8121

How to level bed after applying glue stick for bed adhesion

<p>How much glue do you put on it? I use PVA based spray, barely visible, very evenly spread and no problem whatsoever of sticking paper to the glue layer.</p> <p>Just level the bed as you normally would and apply a sparsely applied coat of glue, preferably from a spray can. Note that glue stick dissolves in water, so you can distribute the glue with a moist cloth preventing globs or thick layers of glue.</p> <p>Having printed literally kilometers of PETG on various build platforms (various glass sheets with or without PVA based glue, Aluminium and PEI), chipping of glass is not something I have seen happening (this part is added after comments on adhesion and glass chipping in comments). Perhaps, in case of chipping, if the glass might be of very low quality, then chipping may occur. Whether your glass is of decent quality can be tested, just print on one side, and if it chips you always have the other side. My Ultimaker 3E sheet of glass has a small chip taken out of the surface, but that was caused by not carefully removing the print, tip is to not pry with the corner of a too thick painters spatula, the corner can dig into the glass if force is used. This was not caused by the adhesion of the print but a user error, now, years later and many more kilometers of PETG, no more extra chips are out of the sheet.</p> <p>Printing on PEI with PETG is another story, PETG just fuses to PEI and is very difficult to remove, a PVA based glue helps, but from experience, still prints were very hard to remove.</p> <p>Invest in a can of build plate adhesion spray, it lasts long, never gives you problems with adhesion and probably is even cheaper than glue sticks (per mass unit).</p>

2019-02-01T09:45:57.927

|3d-design|clip|

<p>I am new to 3D Printing. We currently have to design in process that I want to finish. The design consists of two parts (top and bottom), the top and bottom that need to snap fit into each other. The arrangement should be similar to the one used in many electronics, for example, the cordless phones in the picture below.</p> <p>My question is, can such clips be done with 3D printing? Will they last (be used 5 to 20 times) and does the material used for 3D printing make a difference? Is there a material that is particularly good for such snap-fit connectors? </p> <p>Note that my design will only be a prototype and eventually we would be creating a mold for our product.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/jIlP8.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/jIlP8.png" alt="clip connector"></a></p>

8124

Can snap-fit connector be designed for 3D Printing?

<h2>yes</h2> <p>You can totally print snap-fit connectors for 3D printing, but you need to keep some things in mind. I assume that since you have looked at these connectors, you have a good idea about the matter, but I nevertheless suggest Angus (MakersMuse) discussion locking devices at the beginning of a tutorial Video on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw4iP0luFVU" rel="nofollow noreferrer">designing buckles.</a></p> <p>Your tabs thickness will need to be at least one line width wide at the most narrow point to be printable at all.</p> <h2>Print-Orientation</h2> <p>Another thing besides thickness is orientation. For the strongest tabs, you might want to print the tabs like a C for maximum part strength. Just modeling the part with the tabs, it should print in this orientation then:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/PzgHY.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/PzgHY.png" alt="A C-Clamp" /></a></p> <p>This way the bending is not applying stress against layer boundaries but 90° to them, giving even force on each layer. This means that you will need to print parts in awkward orientations just for the tabs usually. You will need lots of support.</p> <p>You can certainly print in a less awkward position at the expense of strength of the tab, acknowledging that &quot;this is a prototype, we can show you that it closes perfectly like this, though due to FDM limitations we might break the tabs opening it again. So we'll be careful.&quot;</p> <h2>prototype-variation of model</h2> <h3>Snaples tabs</h3> <p>It might be however easier to print the tabs flat and without the hooks, allowing to do a fitting test, but not a snap-connection. Your benefit is, that you won't have to watch for print orientation, but it won't be locking. Make sure to work with <strong>workflow</strong> and put the modifications for easy printing/not-locking at the end. Alterations to the general design should come all <em>before</em> this point. Then turn off these steps to create the model that is sent to machining for the mold.</p> <h3>Modular intermediate design</h3> <p>If you need to have working, strong tabs AND a good print, it can pay off to print separate parts that combine into a single piece with a little glue. Maybe the C-clamp is actually a thin bar that is put into the back plate and glued into place or secured with a little friction weld.</p>

2019-02-01T16:50:27.417

|hotend|monoprice-maker-ultimate|

<p>I recently changes the nozzle on my <a href="https://www.monoprice.uk/products/monoprice-maker-ultimate-3d-printer-uk" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Monoprice Maker Ultimate</a> 3D printer (first time). The brass block that the nozzle screws into is free to rotate around an is <em>wobbly</em>.</p> <p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/C3GbM.jpg" alt="Brass block"></p> <p><a href="https://i.imgur.com/CURJxr5.mp4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Loose block video</a></p> <p>I can't see any obvious nut/screw that's come loose though. It could well be that it's not important, but it was definitely tightly attached before it twisted when I removed the nozzle.</p> <hr> <p>I've taken the assembly apart:</p> <p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/zt2P7.jpg" alt="Silver bit"></p> <hr> <p>Silver bit removed:</p> <p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/5kaCi.jpg" alt="Silver bit"></p>

8126

Loose brass heater block

<p>The silver looking cylindrical nut (with the flat faces) between the brass block and the black metal plate is the heat break of the assembly. The brass block should be tightly fit to this heat break. You could turn the brass block to get a close fit again. The heat break itself can move in the upper part, black plate, the cold end by the set screw on the side. Some hotend assembly types allow that, this screw is then used to fixate the orientation of the brass block. This type of hotend is not very common, it is a MK10.</p> <p>Without the brass block it looks like this:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/oZsAP.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/oZsAP.jpg" alt="MK10 cold end and heat break"></a></p> <p>Maybe this clears it up how the block is attached in between the heat break and the nozzle; it is positioned where you see the threads. The screw to position the brass heater block and the heat break is clearly visible.</p> <p>Don't try to wobble the brass block any further as you will wear out the threads, there appears to be a lot of play already.</p>

2019-02-02T00:10:43.937

|extruder|troubleshooting|cooling|

<p>Recently, at work we bought a Guider II printer from FlashForge. When we try to print models using a high resolution or models with a too high printing time, the feeder gets clogged. And the feeder is too hot. We have concluded that the feeder is getting clogged because the high temperature softens the PLA.</p> <p>We check the feeder fan and is working fine. How can I avoid the jamming? Pausing the 3D printer and wait a few minutes is not working for us. I don't know if it is a common problem for this 3D printer model.</p> <p><strong>Edit:</strong> </p> <p>The hotend is an all metal hot end. I can't find more information about the hot end. </p> <p>In the manual of the guider II flashforge recommend a temperature of 210°C for the head and 30°C for the bed. I have tried different temperatures. The most common temperature I've used is 190°C for the head and 55°C for the bed (I obtain the best results with this temperature).</p> <p>This is the Hotend used by this 3d printer. <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/jrEnr.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/jrEnr.png" alt="Hotend picture"></a></p>

8129

How can I avoid jamming in the feeder?

<p>As Oscar <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/8173/8884">pointed out</a>, this seems to be heat-creep.</p> <h2>What is Heat Creep</h2> <p>Hear Creep happens if the thermal energy deposited in the hotend works up through the heat break and out of the dedicated melt zone, resulting in filament clogging up in the coolend.</p> <h2>Where does Heat Creep come from</h2> <p>Heat Creep is usually a sign of having chosen the settings for the print incorrectly.</p> <p>The biggest culprit is by having a too high printing temperature. I personally have not yet encountered any PLA that demands to be printed at above 200 °C.</p> <p>In an all-metal hotend, the flow of filament down the path is a serious contributor or keeping heat-creep in check. So as a result, very low extrusion speeds have to be avoided to allow to keep the melting happening only in the meltzone. As the speed of extruded filament is related to the diameter of the extrusion, it is usually better to stay away from very small nozzle diameters.</p> <p>The anatomy of the heatbreak is also a factor. Take a look at your heatbreak and then at for example the e3D v6 heatbreak below. As you see, it is necked down between the coolend section (the long part) and the part that screws into the heater block (the short part). This reduces the capability of heat to transfer up through the heatbreak, as <span class="math-container">$I\propto A =(R_a^2-R_i^2)\times\pi$</span>. If <span class="math-container">$R_a$</span>, the outer radius, shrinks by necking down the heatbreak, then the whole flow of thermal energy is reduced, counteracting heat-creep. But that has to be designed for.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/5DKmC.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/5DKmC.jpg" alt="an e3D v6 style heatbreak" /></a></p> <p>Another factor that can result in heat creep is insufficient cooling of the cool end. Make sure that the fan that is mounted on the cooling fins spins always and gets 100% of its supply voltage power. Then make sure that it can draw in the maximum amount of air and push it out an unobstructed path.</p>

2019-02-02T15:21:44.650

|ultimaker-cura|fusion360|

<p>I made a model for my 3D clock. Model has few vertical holes so I made one layer thick bridge for every hole. In Fusion 360 everything looks fine, but CURA (version 3.6.0) doesn't want to print those Bridges. Why?</p> <p>The Full Wall is 1.68mm thick(in Fusion), <code>infill</code> is 20%, <code>wall line count</code> is 1, <code>layer height</code> is 0.28mm, the support-bridges are designed to be this thick too.</p> <p>I'm not sure will be material stable above holes without Bridges.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/9iuec.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/9iuec.png" alt="Bridges in Fusion 360"></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/EfF5o.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/EfF5o.png" alt="Model in CURA 3.6.0"></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/oLdpe.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/oLdpe.png" alt="Hole at close"></a></p>

8133

CURA doesn't want print bridges

<h2>Nomenclature help</h2> <ul> <li>A <strong>Layer</strong> is everything that is printed between the print head moving upwards. <ul> <li><code>Layer height</code> is how <strong>tall</strong> each line is. It is in Quality.</li> </ul></li> <li>A <strong>Wall</strong> is made up from lines put down next to each other. <ul> <li><code>line width</code> is how <strong>thick</strong> a 1-perimeter-strong wall is in the XY-plane. It should never be smaller than the Nozzle Diameter. It is in Quality.</li> </ul></li> <li><strong>Nozzle Diameter</strong> is what is the physical diameter of your nozzle. It is located in the printer configuration.</li> <li>A <strong>Bridge</strong> is printing horizontal layers that connect to walls at the sides but otherwise not connected to the printbed or print.</li> </ul> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/dey7I.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/dey7I.png" alt="A simple bridge"></a></p> <h2>Ultimaker Cura does ignore too thin walls</h2> <p>Your walls are 0.28 mm thick and your nozzle is most likely 0.4 mm thick. That can't be printed at all, in fact, you are <em>way</em> too thin to be printed: a printer should never print any object that is thinner than its nozzle as that is a perfect way to generate clogs.</p> <p>Atop that, slicers ignore <em>also</em> what is thinner or exactly as thin as the line width. If the <code>line width</code> is 0.4 mm, and the wall is 0.4 mm, it gets ignored. If the wall is 0.45 mm, it is not. This can be remedied by setting the option <code>print thin walls</code>, but you still need to have one line nozzle-diameter as minimum line width - actually it is common to go about 10% larger for better extrusion.</p> <h2>Solution</h2> <p>Strengthen the walls to one <code>line width</code> (usually 0.4 mm) in your CAD-design and activate <code>print thin walls</code> under <code>Shell</code>.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/v8fzf.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/v8fzf.png" alt="A design with too thin walls"></a></p>

2019-02-02T17:47:54.567

|troubleshooting|creality-ender-3|bed-leveling|y-axis|

<p>After I level my Ender 3, the distance between the nozzle and the bed seems fine on both ends, but moving the bed on the Y axis shows that it's increasing and decreasing for three times, which I just cant fix.</p> <p>This only occurs on the left side - the right side is constant from beginning to end. Also I've been using three different beds (the magnetic one and two glasses) to make sure it's really something else.</p> <p>I created <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqLqTGeljyw" rel="noreferrer">this video</a> to demonstrate the problem. </p> <p>I'm sure that this has something to do with the carriage wheel adjustment, but tightening those did not change anything.</p> <p>How do I get rid of this problem?</p>

8136

Ender 3 distance between nozzle and bed changing on Y-axis

<p>Blue Painters tape on the left side starting at the center and leaving a band on the far left side and the rear Perfetto side. I checked the before and after and the thickness of the tape shimmed out the deflection on the plate. It sounds like whatever the use to stamp the steel out is creating the bend we are only talking several thousands of an inch but when I put a flat edge on the plate and shined a light from the rear I could see daylight. The blue tape was from Nearys video on creality cr-10 bed leveling. </p>

2019-02-02T22:09:25.580

|g-code|creality-ender-3|

<p>I just completed my first print on my Ender-3 and when the print finalized itself the nozzle didn't elevate itself to clear away from the piece. I watched as the nozzle slowly lowered itself into my print and destroy it. Here is the gcode generated by Slic3r used:</p> <pre> ; Filament-specific end gcode G4 ; wait M221 S100 M106 S0 ; turn off cooling fan M104 S0 ; turn off extruder M140 S0 ; turn off bed G91 G1 F1800 E-3 G90 G1 Z{z_offset+min(layer_z+30, max_print_height)}{endif} ; Move print head up G28 X0 ; home x and y axis G1 Y180; Remove Print Position M84 ; disable motors M300 S2600 P100; Beep ; filament used = 24040.5mm (57.8cm3) ; total filament cost = 0.0 </pre> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/mZncw.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/mZncw.jpg" alt="preview of the destruction"></a></p>

8139

Why did my printer's nozzle dig itself into my print?

<p>The same thing happened to me several years ago. My print was a fairly tall part for my delta printer, about 220 mm. In many previous prints, the print head would always go up after finishing, but what I didn't know was that the Slic3r finish print routine specified an absolute Z height of about 200 mm. When the tall part finished, the still-hot print head moved down and ruined the top of the print. </p> <p>After figuring out that the routine had an absolute reference, I replaced it with a relative movement 20 mm up. It's worked fine since then. An easy fix.</p>

2019-02-03T19:06:07.593

|marlin|bed-leveling|z-probe|knowledgebase|

<p>In setting up a probe for automatic bed leveling, the limits of the probing area must be entered in the firmware of a 3D printer.</p> <p>When using a sensor, how do you define the bed limits for the sensor in Marlin firmware?</p> <p>E.g. the Marlin (1.1.x) <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/1.1.x/Marlin/Configuration.h" rel="noreferrer">configuration.h</a> contains the following inactive statements:</p> <pre> // Set the boundaries for probing (where the probe can reach). //#define LEFT_PROBE_BED_POSITION MIN_PROBE_EDGE //#define RIGHT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (X_BED_SIZE - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) //#define FRONT_PROBE_BED_POSITION MIN_PROBE_EDGE //#define BACK_PROBE_BED_POSITION (Y_BED_SIZE - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) </pre> <p>How do you set the values for the constants of your custom setup? Is this generic or specific?</p> <p>Probe positioning is defined in the Marlin configuration as:</p> <pre> * +-- BACK ---+ * | | * L | (+) P | R * E | | I * F | (-) N (+) | G * T | | H * | (-) | T * | | * O-- FRONT --+ * (0,0) </pre> <p>The probe could be placed with a positive or negative X and Y value. Considering this position, how to setup the sensor bed limits?</p>

8153

How to set Z-probe boundary limits in firmware when using automatic bed leveling?

<p>There are a few questions on this topic, so a more generic solution would be informative and will prevent multiple questions of others when their sensor has a slightly different location. This answer intends to cover any position with respect to the nozzle. It also does not matter what kind of sensor it is, it can be 3DTouch, BLTouch, inductive, capacitive, etc., as long as you are able to determine the offset to the nozzle (center to center).</p> <p>For now, it is assumed that the nozzle can only reach the complete area of the bed, no extra space. So unless the sensor runs of the bed, the nozzle limits are used, otherwise the sensor limits the nozzle with respect to the sensor limits. This is the safest assumption and will prevent the carriage running into the end mounts. But if there is more room for travel, an additional offset may be added to the limits.</p> <p><em><strong>First</strong></em>, determine the offset of the sensor (e.g. by measurement or taken from the information of the printable sensor bracket found many share sites on the internet; <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com" rel="noreferrer">Thingiverse</a> is a good source for such brackets).</p> <hr /> <h2>HINT for Marlin 2.x</h2> <p><em><strong>Note the version (branch) of Marlin!</strong> The answer is written at the time of the 1.1.x branch and as such is perfectly valid for the latest 1.1.x (1.1.9) version. For the 2.0.x branch of Marlin, different constant names are in use, and a different strategy is used (more simple for setting up). The constant names are not found in the <code>Configuration.h</code>, the answer (and the theory) is still helpful. Constant probe offset values are now found in <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Configurations/blob/master/config/default/Configuration_adv.h" rel="noreferrer">Configuration_adv.h</a>:</em></p> <pre><code>MIN_PROBE_EDGE_LEFT MIN_PROBE_EDGE_RIGHT MIN_PROBE_EDGE_FRONT MIN_PROBE_EDGE_BACK </code></pre> <h3>HINT for Marlin &gt;= 2.0.6</h3> <p>Since version<a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/releases/tag/2.0.6" rel="noreferrer"><code>2.0.6</code></a> <code>MIN_PROBE_EDGE_*</code> has been renamed again.<br /> <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Configurations/blob/c322f2c8d79e4e72e1b50939a9ae659be8260a2d/config/examples/Micromake/C1/enhanced/Configuration_adv.h#L1882" rel="noreferrer">Now it is</a>:</p> <pre><code>PROBING_MARGIN_LEFT PROBING_MARGIN_RIGHT PROBING_MARGIN_FRONT PROBING_MARGIN_BACK </code></pre> <p>Note that in Marlin 1.1.x the boundaries are set in absolute positions while in Marlin 2.0.x it is described in offset values from the bed edge.</p> <hr /> <h2>Sensor Offset</h2> <p>The position of the sensor is set using the following constants:</p> <pre> #define X_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER [XXX] // X offset: -left +right [of the nozzle] #define Y_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER [YYY] // Y offset: -front +behind [the nozzle] </pre> <p>where <code>[XXX]</code> and <code>[YYY]</code> are offset values that specify the center of the sensor with respect to the nozzle. If both are positive values, the sensor is located in the back-right, if both negative, the position is front-left (as seen from the front of the machine using the definition in the Marlin configuration file). The other positions that are possible are the back-left and the front-right (one positive and one negative value).</p> <hr /> <h2>HINT for Marlin 2.x</h2> <p>Note that in Marlin 2.x, these constants are replace by an array definition:</p> <pre><code>#define NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET { XXX, YYY, ZZZ } </code></pre> <p>Where <code>ZZZ</code> is the Z offset. If you use the old constants, the sanity check upon compiling will throw an assertion that these constants are not in use anymore and should be removed.</p> <hr /> <p><em><strong>Second</strong></em>, let's set the sensor area limits!</p> <h2>Sensor Area Limits</h2> <p>In the following images, the nozzle, the sensor and the offsets are defined by: <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/HfYc5.png" rel="noreferrer" title="Legend of nozzle, sensor and offset"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/HfYc5.png" alt="Legend of nozzle, sensor and offset" title="Legend of nozzle, sensor and offset" /></a></p> <p>There are four possible positions of the sensor, this results in the following schematics for the sensor area limits (transparent red area):</p> <h1>1. Sensor at the back-right:</h1> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/VwcWg.png" rel="noreferrer" title="Probe area for back-right probe"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/VwcWg.png" alt="Probe area for back-right probe" title="Probe area for back-right probe" /></a></p> <p>This implies that the sensor can reach the back and the right borders, so the limits are set by:</p> <pre> #define LEFT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (X_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER) #define RIGHT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (X_BED_SIZE) #define FRONT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (Y_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER) #define BACK_PROBE_BED_POSITION (Y_BED_SIZE) </pre> <p>Note that if a minimum probe offset is defined by <code>#define MIN_PROBE_EDGE [value] </code> in the configuration (to account for sensor width/dimension), the bed limits are changed resulting in (where t = <code>MIN_PROBE_EDGE</code>):</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/AUeGF.png" rel="noreferrer" title="Probe area for back-right probe with MIN_PROBE_EDGE offset"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/AUeGF.png" alt="Probe area for back-right probe with MIN_PROBE_EDGE offset" title="Probe area for back-right probe with MIN_PROBE_EDGE offset" /></a></p> <p>Limits are then set by:</p> <pre> #define LEFT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (X_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER + MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define RIGHT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (X_BED_SIZE - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define FRONT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (Y_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER + MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define BACK_PROBE_BED_POSITION (Y_BED_SIZE - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) </pre> <p>In the following sensor position placements, this offset for <code>MIN_PROBE_EDGE</code> will be accounted for.</p> <h1>2. Sensor at the back-left:</h1> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/R1LVk.png" rel="noreferrer" title="Probe area for back-left probe"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/R1LVk.png" alt="Probe area for back-left probe" title="Probe area for back-left probe" /></a></p> <p>This implies that the sensor can reach the back and the left borders (for zero <code>MIN_PROBE_EDGE</code>), so the limits are set by:</p> <pre> #define LEFT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define RIGHT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (X_BED_SIZE + X_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define FRONT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (Y_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER + MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define BACK_PROBE_BED_POSITION (Y_BED_SIZE - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) </pre> <h1>3. Sensor at the front-left:</h1> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/nzBDr.png" rel="noreferrer" title="Probe area for front-left probe"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/nzBDr.png" alt="Probe area for front-left probe" title="Probe area for front-left probe" /></a></p> <p>This implies that the sensor can reach the front and the left borders (for zero <code>MIN_PROBE_EDGE</code>), so the limits are set by:</p> <pre> #define LEFT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define RIGHT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (X_BED_SIZE + X_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define FRONT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define BACK_PROBE_BED_POSITION (Y_BED_SIZE + Y_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) </pre> <h1>4. Sensor at the front-right:</h1> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/0HV7I.png" rel="noreferrer" title="Probe area for back-right probe"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/0HV7I.png" alt="Probe area for back-right probe" title="Probe area for back-right probe" /></a></p> <p>This implies that the sensor can reach the front and the right borders (for zero <code>MIN_PROBE_EDGE</code>), so the limits are set by:</p> <pre> #define LEFT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (X_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER + MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define RIGHT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (X_BED_SIZE - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define FRONT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define BACK_PROBE_BED_POSITION (Y_BED_SIZE + Y_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) </pre> <p>This should have tackled the basics for defining the sensor area limits. It becomes a little more complicated when there is extra travel space. A very easy use of extra travel space can be found in the configuration file; e.g:</p> <pre> // Travel limits (mm) after homing, corresponding to endstop positions. #define X_MIN_POS [XX] #define Y_MIN_POS [YY] </pre> <p>where <code>[XX]</code> and <code>[YY]</code> are offset values from endstop to origin (orange arrows represent <code>X_MIN_POS</code> and <code>Y_MIN_POS</code>):</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/jr7Yb.png" rel="noreferrer" title="Probe area for back-right probe including homing endstop offsets"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/jr7Yb.png" alt="Probe area for back-right probe including homing endstop offsets" title="Probe area for back-right probe including homing endstop offsets" /></a> Results in offset constants for a back-right probe:</p> <pre> #define LEFT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (X_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER + X_MIN_POS + MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define RIGHT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (X_BED_SIZE - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define FRONT_PROBE_BED_POSITION (Y_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER + Y_MIN_POS + MIN_PROBE_EDGE) #define BACK_PROBE_BED_POSITION (Y_BED_SIZE - MIN_PROBE_EDGE) </pre> <p>For all other options, a similar addition of the homing offsets can applied.</p> <p>A similar addition is possible if the print head is able to travel further on the X or Y axis at the other ends of the axes.</p> <hr /> <h2>Thoughts for solution for Marlin 2.0.x</h2> <p>As I mentioned earlier, Marlin 2.0.x uses bed edge offsets rather than absolute positions. In analogy of the previous graphs we can draw a bed limits diagram (<em>the example below assumes a back-right mounted probe!</em>):</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/BesT8.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/BesT8.png" alt="Marlin 2.0.x bed sensor limits" /></a></p> <p>Note that the offsets from the edge need to be defined, to properly do this we need access to the definition of the nozzle offset:</p> <pre><code>#define NOZZLE_TO_PROBE_OFFSET { XXX, YYY, ZZZ } </code></pre> <p>As this is the part that defines the array values, you first need to make an array (note that this is a simple solution that many people should be able to understand with limited programming skills, more elegant solutions use the XYZ struct to access the X, Y or Z properties):</p> <p>Note that Marlin 2.0.x automatically adjusts your probe area based on the defined offset and the <code>MIN_PROBE_EDGE</code> defined for all 4 sides of the bed.</p> <p><a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/2.0.x/Marlin/Configuration_adv.h" rel="noreferrer">see</a>:</p> <pre><code>#if PROBE_SELECTED &amp;&amp; !IS_KINEMATIC #define MIN_PROBE_EDGE_LEFT MIN_PROBE_EDGE #define MIN_PROBE_EDGE_RIGHT MIN_PROBE_EDGE #define MIN_PROBE_EDGE_FRONT MIN_PROBE_EDGE #define MIN_PROBE_EDGE_BACK MIN_PROBE_EDGE #endif </code></pre> <hr />

2019-02-04T02:40:16.637

|heated-bed|creality-cr-10|heat-management|warping|

<p>When I run prints on my Creality CR-10S Pro 3D printer (using Ultimaker Cura as slicer), I set the heated bed to around 70&nbsp;&deg;C for PETG. after the first few layers, the heated bed set point changes to 0&nbsp;&deg;C. </p> <p>Is it normal for a 3D printer to turn the heated bed off during a print, or is this a problem?</p> <p>I have had some parts warping, and wonder if this is a potential cause.</p>

8159

Creality CR-10S Pro 3D printer heated bed turns off after first few layers: normal?

<p>I have a new CR10 max.</p> <p>I can't find any adjustments for the bed temperature settings other than the basic ones in the Creality slicer. I'm not sure if the latest software has got this facility.</p>

2019-02-04T22:11:56.383

|extruder|electronics|power-supply|

<p>Heads up: I'm not good with electronics and only have a vague idea of it's inner workings.</p> <p>I have a <a href="https://ru.aliexpress.com/item/3D-Printer-V6-Wade-Short-distance-J-head-Hotend-12V-for-1-75mm-3-0mm-Extruder/32810022530.html?spm=a2g0v.10010108.1000016.1.197a7c35uzmRpw&amp;isOrigTitle=true" rel="noreferrer">E3D V6 Extruder rated for 24&nbsp;V</a>, that i plan to use in my 3D printer. Will there be any problems with it if powered by 12&nbsp;V? Will it take longer to heat up? Will it be able to heat up enough to melt PLA? Will it work at all for that matter? If there are any other quirks or potential problems that I overlooked, please let me know.</p>

8163

Can an extruder rated for 24 V work with 12 V ATX power supply?

<p>It will take longer to heat up. However if you use a <a href="https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/B06XWSV89D" rel="nofollow noreferrer" rel="nofollow noreferrer">boost converter</a> (like I did on my Anet A8 when I upgraded to a <a href="https://www.hot-end.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Maxiwatt</a> 24&nbsp;V hot end), then it will work just fine without any further adjustments; to the power supply or the gauges of the wire etc. I set the boost from 12 to 24 volts. Now my A8 heats up in 56 seconds!</p>

2019-02-05T03:19:35.577

|troubleshooting|y-axis|print-failure|

<p>[Edit: My specific question is firmware error or standard layer shifting. using 2 different versions of Cura were getting quite different results from the same stl file.] </p> <p>Per the image below with Cura 15.4 the centered print both shifted to the bottom of the print bed for the first few passes and then did not build the proper internal structure of the bracket. the top loops were then skewed to the top of the bed. The 2^nd print in the corner was using Cura 3.1 and the first few passes like usual skewed off towards the bottom but it seemed to start printing normally after that. I am trying to determine if it is a hardware calibration issue or bad firmware on the printer. Any suggestions on what's going on would be appreciated. For some reason the image flipped 180&deg; when posting. </p> <p>Center part completed its print and should be about an inch or so tall. It was not even able to build the internal structure like the 2^nd one had started to do. the 2^nd one I stopped after about 10&nbsp;min since it clearly showed different behavior. from the layer shifting links the most likely cause would be over current stepping. </p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/CNiUU.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/CNiUU.jpg" alt="Failed layer shifting prints"></a></p>

8166

Print layer shifting on Alunar M508 Prusa i3 clone

<p>This effect is called <a href="https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/#layer-shifting-or-misalignment" rel="nofollow noreferrer">layer shifting </a>. Now that you know what it is called you could look at some other solutions fixing this issue; e.g. <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/7699/how-to-fix-y-layer-shift-on-creality-ender-3">here</a>, <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/7580/layer-shifting-on-product-printing-after-raft-support-structure">here</a> or <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/7867/what-causes-this-stringing-and-can-my-print-recover-from-this/7875#7875">here</a>. The answers of <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/7699/how-to-fix-y-layer-shift-on-creality-ender-3/7700#7700">this question</a> describe best what is causing this. Usually (most of all the cases) it means that your belts are not tight enough.</p> <p>An edit of the question shows that the effect happens when a different version of Ultimaker Cura is being used. In such cases you need to check the speeds and acceleration settings. Too high values may lead to skipping steps causing layer shifting. Be sure it is not a mechanical issue, also note that the nozzle does not get caught up by the uneven tape on the bed. In that effect, you may want to look at <a href="/q/3314/">this unaswered question</a>.</p>

2019-02-06T13:40:47.473

|calibration|bed-leveling|

<p>I’m building a 3D printer and need to understand what calibration and bed leveling is, and I was surprised to see there isn’t a clear explanation on the internet anywhere. Does bed leveling compensate for an uneven bed? So then, what does calibrating do? Is it the same thing?</p>

8177

What exactly does calibrating a 3D printer do?

<p>First, welcome to the 3D Printing Stack Exchange!</p> <h2>On bed leveling</h2> <p>Bed leveling, or more accurately bed tramming, adjusts the bed so that it is even in relation to the print head. Typically it is done by sliding a paper between the nozzle and the bed when Z = 0, or the print head is at its lowest. The amount of friction should be similar to the amount of friction of a sheet of paper between two magazines (recommended by Tom Salander on YouTube I believe). One sheet of paper is about 0.1 mm, which is a common gap and allows for good adhesion of the deposited plastic, and typically the gap is measured at the four corners and the center of the bed.</p> <h2>But wait, there's more!</h2> <p>Mesh bed leveling can account for a physically uneven print bed (like a bowing glass sheet) and can be done manually like above or one can mount a sensor so that everything is automatic. The print bed is broken down into a grid (typically 3x3 or 5x5) and the Z height adjusts so that the gap is 0.1 mm at each point in the grid. A mesh is then made and stored in the printer. As the printer prints it makes the necessary variations in height so that the print is flat. Please note that the bed should be leveled as best as possible before setting up the mesh as it will vastly improve the resulting mesh. Mesh leveling is primarily software. The actual level of the bed remains unchanged, thus needing to level it prior to setting up the mesh.</p> <h2>Other calibrations</h2> <p>Bed leveling (including mesh bed leveling) is one aspect of calibration. Other important factors to tune in are temperatures of the nozzle and the bed. For example, PLA has a temperature range of 180-230 °C but each printer is different and may need to print at a higher or lower temperature for best results. Or the printer reports a temperature of 200 °C but the thermistor is off and is actually printing at 190 °C. It's up to the user then to compensate if they want/need to print at an actual 200 °C.</p> <p>Other settings to tune are print speeds, acceleration and jerk, retraction, and extrusion. Faster print speeds can result in poorer quality prints, namely ghosting and under extrusion. Acceleration/jerk works in the same vein since it directly affects speed. Retraction helps with stringing. If the retraction settings are too low then there will be stringing on the model, if it's too high then there can be under extrusion and heat creep. Adjusting the extrusion factor will tell the printer to push more plastic out or push less. The higher the factor the more plastic is pushed. IMO best practice is to leave the factor at 1 in the slicer and calibrate the stepper motor itself (as can be seen <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=2&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwivk77wqKfgAhUGneAKHZMUCeEQFjABegQIBxAK&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DYUPfBJz3I6Y&amp;usg=AOvVaw1nF4Xfv2efM14jDJDmUtk3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>)</p> <h2>Calibration models</h2> <p>There are several calibration models on thingiverse that can show common print issues. Some of the popular ones are:</p> <ul> <li>The <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1278865" rel="nofollow noreferrer">calibration cube</a> which one can ensure that the motors are moving accurately to print out a 20 mm cube. This also shows ghosting along any of the three axes. This cube may also point out if any of the axes aren't 90 degrees perpendicular to each other as the cube should be, well, a cube and not an amorphous shape (thanks to Joel Coehoorn for pointing this out).</li> <li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:763622" rel="nofollow noreferrer">3DBenchy</a> which shows a myriad of potential print quality issues including ghosting, poor overhangs/bridging, and stringing.</li> <li>A <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2615842" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Temperature Tower</a> uses post scripting in the slicer to change the temperatures so one can determine the different print qualities across a spectrum of temperature. There are a lot of different models online if this one does not work for you.</li> <li>An <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2806295" rel="nofollow noreferrer">all-in-one test</a> can do a lot of tests in one model and they are all labeled within the model. (The linked one is the mini version, there are several similar tests online.)</li> <li>This list is by no means inclusive, there are several other models that can test other problems. These are just what's usually printed (especially the cube and Benchy).</li> </ul> <p>Happy printing!</p>

2019-02-06T15:57:30.457

|slic3r|3d-printerworks|

<p>I have a Creatorbot 3D printer made by 3D PrinterWorks. Their website appears to be down, as well as their Facebook page. To me it appears they are no longer around.</p> <p>I've installed Slic3r as 3D PrinterWorks has recommended in the handbook but cannot download the settings for this from the 3D PrinterWorks website, since that is down. </p> <p>Does anyone know where I can get the Slic3r configuration file for the Creatorbot?</p>

8180

Where to get the Slic3r configuration files for the 3D PrinterWorks Creatorbot printers?

<p>The configuration files were on a flash drive that came with the printer. That being said, here is the file that was located on my flash drive for Slic3r (denoted as deprecated on March 1, 2017).</p> <p>This is for a Creatorbot Pro II.</p> <p><a href="https://pastebin.com/j1dkSt8f" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://pastebin.com/j1dkSt8f</a></p> <p>Save it as Slic3r_config.ini and import it in to Slic3r.</p> <p>Good luck!</p>

2019-02-06T18:22:27.210

|filament|enclosure|asa|

<p>Is it possible or recommended to print with ASA filament with printer that has no enclosure? I Know that ASA is better than ABS, but is it that better that enclosure is not needed?</p>

8182

Print ASA without enclosure

<p>According to <a href="https://www.matterhackers.com/articles/how-to-succeed-when-3d-printing-with-asa-filament" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MatterHackers</a>, <a href="https://www.simplify3d.com/support/materials-guide/asa/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Simplify3D</a>, and <a href="https://www.simplify3d.com/support/materials-guide/asa/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">3D Insider</a> an enclosure is not necessary but highly recommended as ASA, like ABS, is susceptible to drafts and can warp. A heated bed is necessary (somewhere between 90-110 °C), and little-to-no cooling fan used. The enclosure helps ensure adhesion and a consistent temperature. ASA also has fumes and an enclosure can help contain unwanted smells.</p> <p>MattHackers has a video (Step 4 in the link) on making an enclosure with some kind of plastic sheeting or trash bag (I didn't watch it). There are videos on YouTube on using cheap Ikea side tables and acrylic sheets to make an enclosure if you want a more permanent solution.</p>

2019-02-06T18:45:53.690

|ultimaker-cura|g-code|

<p>I have a Monoprice Maker Select Plus, currently using Ultimaker Cura 3.6.0 with the default settings for a Wanhao Duplicator i3 Plus. Right now when a print finishes, the bed retreats towards the back of the machine. I'd rather present the bed forward for easier part removal.</p> <p>Here is my ending G-Code:</p> <pre> M104 S0 ;extruder heater off G91 ;relative positioning G1 E-1 F300 ;retract the filament a bit before lifting the nozzle, to release some of the pressure G1 Z+0.5 E-5 X-20 Y-20 F{travel_speed} ;move Z up a bit and retract filament even more G28 X0 Y0 ;move X/Y to min endstops, so the head is out of the way M84 ;steppers off G90 ;absolute positioning </pre> <p>It looks like I need to change that <code>G28</code> line third from the bottom, but I'm not sure what to change it to. I've not yet done any g-code manipulation of my own. I don't know what units it's using, and it looks like it still has relative positioning, so even then I don't know it's a good idea to just set it for the max size of the bed. </p> <p>So how can I change this code to move the bed as I want?</p>

8184

Move print bed to front at the end of a print rather than the back

<p>Note that <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/G-code#G28:_Move_to_Origin_.28Home.29" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this reference</a> states that:</p> <blockquote> <p>Because the behavior of <code>G28</code> is unspecified, it is recommended <strong>not</strong> to automatically include <code>G28</code> in your <strong>ending GCode</strong>. On a Cartesian this will result in damaging the printed object. If you need to move the carriage at the completion of a print, use <code>G0</code> or <code>G1</code>.</p> </blockquote> <p>So you need to use a <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/G-code#G0_.26_G1:_Move" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><code>G0</code> or <code>G1</code></a> move.</p> <p>When using Ultimaker Cura (like many other slicers), there is built in functionality known as <a href="https://github.com/Ultimaker/Cura/issues/1131" rel="nofollow noreferrer">keywords</a> with a complete list found <a href="https://github.com/Ultimaker/Cura/blob/master/resources/definitions/fdmprinter.def.json" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>.</p> <p>The keyword <code>machine_depth</code> is the one that is of use to you, embed this in your end G-code in between curly brackets and it will expand to the bed size of your machine (replacing <code>G28 X0 Y0</code>):</p> <p><code>G1 X0 Y{machine_depth}</code></p> <p>For me this compiles to (e.g. for my coreXY printer):</p> <p><code>G1 X0 Y300</code></p> <p>To set the speed, just add the following command prior to the one above:</p> <p><code>G1 F2500</code></p> <p>Adding this line before the actual move ensures that the speed is constant, if <code>F2500</code> would have been included in the move command (like <code>G1 X0 Y{machine_depth} F2500</code>), this defines the end speed, it would start moving at the last speed value prior to the move.</p> <p>This results in adding the following lines in your endscript:</p> <pre> G1 F2500 G1 X0 Y{machine_depth} </pre>

2019-02-06T21:04:15.697

|filament-choice|

<p>This is probably the most basic of questions. When I was shopping for a printer I saw models that would list a slew of certain plastics that the printer can print while other printers (different suppliers) would only list PLA/ABS. At the same time, the instruction manual that came with my printer only listed PLA and ABS.</p> <p>What is actually used to determine the possible material (other than diameter)? I assume that if the nozzle can reach the required temperature to melt the plastic <strong>and</strong> the bed can reach the necessary temperature to maintain bed adhesion, then my printer can print that plastic. Am I correct? </p> <p>For example, my nozzle can reach 250 °C, but the bed can barely reach 80 °C so I can print with ABS but not with ASA (since it needs <em>at least</em> 90 °C on the bed. However, if I switch out the heating element for something beefier then that opens up anything that needs a hotter bed. Right?</p> <p>Let's assume that I have the means to change nozzles and extruder type to fit the need of the filament. The goal of this question is to limit to one or two limiting factors of the printer without major modification.</p>

8188

What kind of filaments can I use?

<p>There are other factors besides temperature. Certain "soft" filaments won't go well through all extruders, and some other filaments with wood/metal particle additives don't go well through every extruder type and can cause clogging. Even people who do tend to print a lot of these materials will often use a specific nozzle just for those filaments.</p> <p>That said, you still <em>might</em> be able to print even with something like ASA that seems unsupported. You can do this by taking additional measures for bed adhesion, or upgrading or swapping your nozzle or hot end.</p> <p>If you can print PLA and ABS, you can probably also print so-called PLA+ and PETG, at a minimum.</p>

2019-02-07T15:16:44.943

|troubleshooting|creality-ender-3|bltouch|

<p>I installed a BLTouch on my Ender 3 following this video: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUlqrSq6LeY" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUlqrSq6LeY</a>.</p> <p>What I noticed too late was that when installing the BLTouch, I swapped the brown and red wires followed by connecting it to the mainboard.</p> <p>Then I realized that the printer wouldn't turn on. After reading some of the comments, I swapped back the wire and I could see the BLTouch do its self-test.</p> <p>However, it seems that I need to plug into the USB before the LCD + motors can work.</p> <p>So is my mainboard fried? Or how should I fix it?</p>

8191

Ender 3 needs Power Supply AND USB to work

<p>It seems like I blew the regulator based on the comment in the Reddit post: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3/comments/ao5m5b/ender_3_can_only_be_powered_on_by_psu_and_usb/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3/comments/ao5m5b/ender_3_can_only_be_powered_on_by_psu_and_usb/</a></p>

2019-02-07T20:08:58.047

|creality-cr-10|retraction|petg|

<p>I've tried printing the Basic Stringing Test on my CR-10S using PETG (250 °C nozzle, 80 °C bed) with different retraction distances leaving all the rest unchanged.</p> <p>In the image below you can see 0 mm, 5 mm and 10 mm retractions (in order left-to-right).</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/YgAqr.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Basic Stringing Test on CR-10S with 0 mm, 5 mm and 10 mm retractions"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/YgAqr.jpg" alt="Basic Stringing Test on CR-10S with 0 mm, 5 mm and 10 mm retractions" title="Basic Stringing Test on CR-10S with 0 mm, 5 mm and 10 mm retractions" /></a></p> <p>The result stunned me because I would have imagined that raising retraction distance would have diminished the stringing.</p> <p>Why is that?</p>

8194

Question about retraction distance and stringing/print quality with PETG

<p>You cannot endlessly increase the retraction distance, doing so leads to different problems as you encountered. As a rule of thumb, the retraction distance should not exceed the length of your nozzle. Depending on the type of extruder, many printers use a value between 2 and 7 mm (e.g. the Ultimaker Cura retraction length is 6.5 mm at 25 mm/s, this is for a Bowden style extruder).</p> <p>In fighting stringing (in which PETG is very subjected to happening) retraction length is only one of the parameters that you need to adjust to optimize the printing process. Other important parameters (besides retraction length) for stringing are:</p> <ul> <li>retraction speed</li> <li>travel speed</li> <li>minimum travel distance</li> <li>flow modifier<br><em>-&gt; From experience with printing kilometers of 2.85 mm PETG: if PETG is over-extruded by little, it causes the excess of material to form &quot;curtains&quot; like in the left image.</em></li> <li>combing<br><em>-&gt; added by comments: PETG does not like to be &quot;combed&quot; over; moving back over the already printed material without retracting will &quot;pull&quot; it back up (due to adhesion to the molten material in the orifice) as well as pulling more material out of the nozzle; this results in junk all over the place which can manifest as &quot;stringing&quot; even though it's different from what &quot;stringing&quot; usually is.</em></li> </ul> <p>Furthermore, the type of extruder (direct or Bowden) is also important and other parameters that may reduce the stringing are:</p> <ul> <li>coasting (stop extruding before the end of the print line is reached using the residual pressure in the nozzle to extrude the last filament)<br> <em>-&gt; Please note that coasting is a last resort as the amount of material needed for the whole print is not what is being extruded, i.e. stopping earlier means that the overall amount of material is less than what should be put in...</em></li> <li>pre-loading/priming filament after a move</li> </ul> <p>Usually it suffices to tune the first parameters. As you see in your results, the retraction of 5 mm is close to the result you would expect, increasing it, may lead to clogs and in your case leads to a sort of stringing. This latter result is probably due to the fact that the filament does not reach the print in time (you definitely see under-extruded cylinder columns), while leftover pressure after printing the column layer oozes some of the filament creating strings.</p> <p>Just play with the retraction length in steps of 0.25 mm (around the 5 mm) and you may try to change the speed with 5 mm/s increments if necessary. Also experiment with the flow modifier.</p>

2019-02-08T21:15:36.847

|extrusion|simplify3d|multi-material|retraction|

<p>I have a Rostock Max V2, and I've added a second extruder going into a y-splitter into a single nozzle on my printer. I have both extruders working correctly, but I'm having trouble tuning the retraction settings to prevent stringing when I switch between extruders during a print. My system is essentially identical to the setup seen <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_a9GofByKY" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>. However, I can't get my printer to retract as cleanly as the one in the video</p> <p>What I'm trying to avoid is the long, thin "tail" that forms when retracting the filament from the hot end. That "tail" binds the other filament during the switch and makes the extruder grind a hollow spot on the filament.</p> <p>I've had limited success tuning my retraction settings, but I find that I need different settings for different extrusion speeds. For example, after an extrusion like <code>G1 E20 F240</code> a 3mm retraction, 3mm extrusion, then a fast retraction creates a nice, clean break (this routine is recommended <a href="http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&amp;t=11693" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> by kraeger on the SeeMeCNC forums). However, after an extrusion like <code>G1 E20 F900</code> I have to use longer retractions to get a clean break. I think this might have to do with the filament acting like a spring inside the bowden tube. It would make sense to me that the harder you push the filament, the more you need to pull back to compensate for the pent-up spring force.</p> <p>Here's my question: Is there a way to read the value of the extrusion speed, essentially the "F" term from the gcode commands, and change my retraction routine accordingly.</p> <p>Example pseudocode:</p> <pre><code>If F value &lt; 500 Then do short retraction If F value &gt; 500 AND F value &lt; 1000 Then do medium retraction If F value &gt; 1000 Then do long retraction </code></pre> <p>I'm using the tool change script feature in Simplify3D to store the tool change code.</p>

8204

Use Gcode Extrusion Speed in Calculations

<p>I don't think you're going to find either a firmware feature or a slicer feature that handles specifically what you want to do. The slicer would probably be the best place to put it, and I'd recommend maybe opening a feature request ticket with Ultimaker, because that sounds like an awesome feature.</p> <p>That being said, there's nothing stopping you from post-processing your GCode file after it's been generated. If you're experienced with python at all, that's the place I'd recommend you start.</p> <p>You'll probably want to do it via the following:</p> <ol> <li>Find the first line number that does a retraction.</li> <li>Sum up all the extrusion distances between that line and the starting point (the beginning of the file)</li> <li>Replace the retraction distance and feedrate with whatever your short/medium/long retraction settings are</li> <li>Store that line number as your new starting point</li> <li>GOTO 1.</li> </ol> <p>If you're using Slic3r, there's actually a post-processing script function built into the app itself, you just need to write the script and give it to the application to make the whole process hands-off. For other slicers you'll probably just have to run the script manually between slicing and printing.</p>

2019-02-09T02:29:53.833

|print-quality|ultimaker-cura|slicing|creality-ender-3|

<p>Using CuraEngine with my Ender 3, I'm getting what I'd call inconsistent inner and outer dimensions - for example, a nominally 3&nbsp;mm peg is significantly larger than a 3&nbsp;mm hole, and it takes dimensions something like 2.9&nbsp;mm for the peg and 3.1&nbsp;mm for the hole to get them to fit. Is this level of error normal? Is it caused by overextrusion, or does CuraEngine run its paths along the curve of the slice rather than offset by approximately half the nozzle width inside the sliced region? The magnitude of the error being almost exactly 0.2&nbsp;mm, which is half of the 0.4&nbsp;mm nozzle diameter, makes me wonder if it's the latter.</p>

8206

Inconsistent inner/outer dimensions

<p>Cura does correctly account for line extrusion widths wheen positioning the lines, and attempting to fix this with negative <code>xy_offset</code> was a mistake that led to lots of problems: in some cases, it completely eliminated tiny components of the model and left gaps in layers. At some point after asking this question, I did a new test with 8mm peg and hole, and I was actually able to force the 8mm peg into the hole (but not remove it) using tools, without cracking the parts, so I think past tiny sizes where dimensional accuracy is very difficult to achieve, everything is just about right.</p>

2019-02-09T14:23:58.727

|filament|safety|food|petg|

<p>I've been trying to find a 3D printer filament which would not release any chemicals if in contact with heated water for a substantial amount of time. So far, I've easily ruled out both PLA and ABS, as they're not considered food safe from what I can find. I have found PETG filament, which seems to be food safe. </p> <p>My question is: "Is there's anything special you'd have to do to make sure the print is food safe, or as in my case, to make sure it's safe for usage in a mug?".</p> <p>I will be using a steel extruder as brass ones may contain lead.</p>

8210

Is PETG filament food safe?

<p>As far as PET-based filaments go, most of them are FDA approved. So yes, "food safe". It's the process of 3D printing that ruins that. all the little layers trap just about everything and are hard to clean. If you wanted to boil your part, that might work, but you'd be better off buying a food-safe coating spray for your parts.</p>

2019-02-10T14:41:57.790

|z-probe|inductive-sensor|

<p>I currently have my printrbot with a LJ12A3-4-Z/BX-5V Inductive Proximity Sensor ( 61mm M12 DC 5V NPN NO 300mA)</p> <p>That detects my aluminium bed at around 1.2&nbsp;mm distance. While it works, if the printer does the smallest blob the probe crashes into it. </p> <p>I am considering replacing the probe by the M18 version LJ18A3-8-Z/BX-5V ( M18 8mm DC 5V NPN NO 300mA). </p> <p>I haven't been able to find real specs for these probes (apart from what the sellers put in eBay or AliExpress - which I do not trust). </p> <p><strong>Will I get a larger detection distance with the M18 version of the 5&nbsp;V probe?</strong> (I wonder if the M18 version is exactly the same M12 version with a larger casing).</p> <p>Or should I move to the 6-36&nbsp;V versions of the probes - I do not want to do that to not modify my wiring. </p>

8214

M12 vs M18 V5 inductive probe

<p>The larger the diameter and the higher the voltage the larger the detection distance. You do not need to do much wire modification if you use an optocoupler, see <a href="/a/6359/">this anwer</a>.</p>

2019-02-10T15:26:53.770

|ramps-1.4|anet-a8|power-supply|

<p>So yesterday I got my power supply in the mail and I thought, let's check it out!</p> <p>I put all the wires in correctly (as shown in this YouTube video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8GhVKG2Nno" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Anet A8 power supply unit fuse blown</a>, I just searched really quickly, this person has the same problem as me) and &quot;BANG&quot;, it blew.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kBCjk.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Image from YouTube video"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kBCjk.png" alt="Image from YouTube video" title="Image from YouTube video" /></a></p> <p>Luckily the only thing broken on it is the fuse, for which I can get a new one, but my main question is .. why? why did it blow out? Did I wire it up wrong? The 12 V output goes to a RAMPS 1.4 board which is working correctly.</p> <p>It worked the first time I plugged it in; the little green light went on. The second time a nice &quot;big bang&quot;. When I tested it the first time, I didn't add the 12 V wires to the RAMPS board yet. When I did, the fuse of the PSU blew out.</p> <p>The board is a RepRap RAMPS 1.4, which works fine when connected via USB to laptop.</p> <p>Upon closer inspection I found a burned out resistor in the circuit of the power supply, maybe this caused the bang?</p> <h3>BIG update!</h3> <p>I opened it up and flipped the board, and noticed that there was a big ol' blob of tin connected to one of the pins I connected my wires to. I am very sure that this blob shouldn't connect to that pin at all, hence shorting my board.</p> <p>Is this the cause?</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/lGGSF.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Close up of PCB"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/lGGSF.jpg" alt="Close up of PCB" title="Close up of PCB" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/lKdWI.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Close up of PCB - Highlighted potential short circuit"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/lKdWI.jpg" alt="Close up of PCB - Highlighted potential short circuit" title="Close up of PCB - Highlighted potential short circuit" /></a></p> <p>Here is a link to the webpage I bought it from: <a href="https://m.banggood.com/nl/12V-20A-240W-Anet-Power-Supply-Dual-input-Centralized-Power-Monitoring-For-3D-Printer-p-1108988.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Anet® 12 V 20 A 240 W Power Supply Dual-input Centralized Power Monitoring For 3D Printer</a></p> <p>Here is how I wired it up at the PSU side:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/yHZxm.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Power supply connections"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/yHZxm.png" alt="Power supply connections" title="Power supply connections" /></a></p> <p>At the RAMPS side:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Od4en.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="RAMPS board connections"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Od4en.jpg" alt="RAMPS board connections" title="RAMPS board connections" /></a></p> <p>This shows the internals of the PSU, it clearly shows burn marks:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/EuSfm.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Overview of the failed electronic component in the PSU"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/EuSfm.jpg" alt="Overview of the failed electronic component in the PSU" title="Overview of the failed electronic component in the PSU" /></a></p>

8216

Why did my power supply fuse blew out on my Anet A8?

<h3>Unless you know what you're doing, do not remove the covers from a PSU. The components can store a lethal charge long after power is removed, even if the fuse is blown.</h3> <p>My guess is something loose (now vapourised) in the PSU. Electronics have a tendancy of failing either quite soon after manufacture, or lasting reasonably well. This is described with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_curve" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bathtub Curve</a>.</p> <p>Looking at the failure, there was a significant short circuit somewhere - quite likely within the PSU itself. This doesn't mean you can be sure that the RAMPS board survived, but it has a reasonable chance of not being harmed.</p> <p>There is no significant chance of the PSU failing like that simply due to an excessive load in its output - unless it was overloaded for a significant period of time. Generally these PSUs will have some degree of overload protection even if they are not explicitly designed to survive an overload.</p>

2019-02-10T20:28:50.273

|calibration|

<p>I printed a temperature calibration cuboid for Hatchbox 1.75&nbsp;mm PLA, in 1&nbsp;&deg;C increments from 180&nbsp;&deg;C to 190&nbsp;&deg;C. </p> <p>I have two questions related to this image:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/AnHOt.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/AnHOt.jpg" alt="Temperature calibration print"></a></p> <ul> <li>I'm not seeing any difference in quality across the temperature range. Am I just way off base and need to be substantially higher?</li> <li>How do I get rid of the small layer shifts you can see across the board?</li> </ul> <p>Printed on a RepRapGuru Prusa MK2 clone.</p>

8218

What calibration options should I look into given these defects

<p>Your print does <strong>not</strong> suffer from layer shifts as you call them. This uneven layer deposition is typically caused by the (positioning) accuracy of your printer. All-in-all, this print does not look so bad. You would get better quality prints on a different style of a printer; most high-end printers have a lowering platform instead of a forth and back moving platform.</p> <p>Although 180&nbsp;&deg;C is at the low side of printing PLA (usually it starts at about 185&nbsp;&deg;C), the print does look okay. However, looks can deceive, it does not say anything about structural integrity (layer bonding).</p> <p>Note, to calibrate the temperature using a temperature tower, you need a different calibration test print, preferably one that tests overhang. This latter is usually far more important as there is normally not much to see at the walls, you need a slanting part in the print or an overhang to determine the optimal temperature.</p>

2019-02-11T12:07:57.223

|marlin|diy-3d-printer|z-axis|homing|

<p>I have just built my first 3D printer, and I am having some problems. It is a Cartesian based 3D printer, using Marlin firmware and Pronterface software. My problem is homing the 3D printer. I do not have a probe to calibrate the z offset but I have all 6 endstops. The problem is that the "ZMIN" endstop isn't precise enough and my hotend is always either too far from or too close to the heatbed. Is there a way to manually set the home position, so when I start the printer, It just starts printing and it doesn't have to home again; Or maybe some other way to set the correct offset. It would also be helpful if I could use just the "ZMAX" plug, and then manually set the minimum Z position using a piece of paper.</p>

8222

Homing the 3D printer

<p>You can reconfigure marlin to use the MAXZ endstop instead of MINZ in Configuration.h, and then reflash it to your printer.</p> <p><a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/1.1.x/Marlin/Configuration.h#L877" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/1.1.x/Marlin/Configuration.h#L877</a></p> <p>Now this is highly unusual, as most printers only have MIN endstops. If you post a pic of your faulty MINZ endstop, we can probably figure out how you could fix it. Zipties come to mind as a likely solution.</p>

2019-02-11T21:01:57.003

|octoprint|

<p>The Prusa i3 MK3 displays the remaining printing time right from the beginning.</p> <blockquote> <p>Image: 3:38 remaining after 0% printing</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/O5Klt.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/O5Klt.jpg" alt="Prusa remaining time"></a></p> <p>From about 8 prints until now, I would say that this time is quite reliable.</p> <p>Octoprint, however, does not display the remaining time initially and is then far off.</p> <blockquote> <p>Image: Octoprint saying something like "too uncertain"</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZibQZ.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZibQZ.png" alt="Octoprint - no remaining time"></a></p> <blockquote> <p>Image: Octoprint says 8.5 hours remaining</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/vTXrT.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/vTXrT.png" alt="Octoprint - way too long time"></a></p> <p><strong>Why doesn't Octoprint just take the remaining time from the printer and display that? Or can I change a setting so that it does?</strong></p>

8228

Why can my printer display remaining time but OctoPrint can't?

<p>Octoprint is a generic application that has to work with a rather wide variety of printers and printer firmwares. The time estimation that is shipped with Octoprint by default is a very basic method that doesn't rely on any specific printer features. This also makes it kind of useless in some cases, and not very accurate.</p> <p>The estimate that the Prusa i3 Mk3 shows is not actually done by the printer, it is embedded in the GCode generated by Slic3r PE. There are M73 commands added that tell the printer how far along the print job is.</p> <p>As for why Octoprint doesn't do this by default, the major reason is likely that this method only works for specific printers and slicers, and only works well if the slicer can actually do good estimates for a particular printer. This is the case for the Prusa because it supports this feature and the slicer is maintained by them and has enough information to make good estimates. But this is not the case for all printers.</p> <p>The feature is also not entirely standardized as far as I understand, e.g. Prusa uses slightly different M73 commands to give estimates for normal and silent mode.</p> <p>There are plugins that can read the M73 estimates, you could try that. I never tried them myself, <a href="https://plugins.octoprint.org/plugins/m73etaoverride/" rel="noreferrer">this plugin</a> seems to do what you want from a quick glance.</p>

2019-02-11T21:34:42.023

|prusa-i3|infill|

<p>My i3 MK3 is printing very well for solid parts of an object, but it messes up with infill.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/dc5BL.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/dc5BL.jpg" alt="Infill rough"></a></p> <p>As you can see in the image, the infill is broken into pieces and bends to that the surface becomes rough and the nozzle touches it next time it moves there, which probably does not make things better.</p> <p>I've read the <a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/7-problems-affecting-quality-of-3d-prints" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Prusa problem page</a>, where they suggest three solutions:</p> <ul> <li>change infill type</li> <li>flexible filament (I'm using PETG, so this does not apply)</li> <li>lower printing speed</li> </ul> <p>I'm printing with 20% infill and I believe that this worked before at the same speed, so I'm tempted to say that both remaining options are options, but it should work without them.</p> <p>It also seems to me as if the infill is thinner that ordinary walls. Is the extrusion speed lower in case of infill? Is there a way of changing the extrusion speed for infill?</p> <p>Side note: my printer always tells me to upgrade to the latest firmware 3.5.1. Since I have just received the printer back from a warranty repair after the last firmware upgrade, I don't want to upgrade the firmware. Could the issue be related to firmware?</p> <p>Infos requested from comments:</p> <p>I'm basically using the Slic3r default settings for PETG. The only thing I adjusted is the temperature, since I'm using HDGlass PETG and there was a recommended temperature written on the spool. Relevant settings seem to be</p> <ul> <li>Filament settings <ul> <li>fan speed min 30 % max 50 %</li> <li>bridges fan speed 50 %</li> <li>enable fan below 20 s</li> <li>slow down below 20 s</li> <li>min print speed 15 mm/s</li> </ul></li> <li>Speed settings <ul> <li>Perimenters 45 mm/s</li> <li>Small perimeters 25 mm/s</li> <li>External perimeters 35 mm/s</li> <li>Infill 200 mm/s</li> <li>Solid infill 200 mm/s </li> <li>Top solid infill 50 mm/s</li> </ul></li> </ul>

8229

Infill is rough - how to enhance?

<p>I have dealt with this on infill as well on multiple MK3s.</p> <p>However, it was not the speed itself, but the hot end having difficulty extruding enough to keep up with the infill. </p> <p>Some things to try:</p> <ul> <li>Raise hot end temperature 5 degrees (melt filament faster)</li> <li>Lower infill speed, it will not affect your overall print time very much (surprisingly)</li> <li>A combination of the two above.</li> </ul> <p>Good luck!</p>

2019-02-12T13:52:20.063

|ultimaker-cura|g-code|troubleshooting|anet-a8|

<p>I don't understand what's wrong with my G-code. I have set the printing temperature to 195 °C but when I try to print, the target temperature is always 0 °C and printing never starts.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/hkB6E.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/hkB6E.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p> <p>I have tried changing material preset to different PLA profiles but that didn't help at all.</p> <p>G-code:</p> <pre><code>;FLAVOR:RepRap ;TIME:1736 ;Filament used: 0.676205m ;Layer height: 0.1 ;Generated with Cura_SteamEngine 3.4.1 T0 M190 S50 M104 S195 M109 S195 M82 ;absolute extrusion mode G21 ;metric values G90 ;absolute positioning M82 ;set extruder to absolute mode M107 ;start with the fan off G28 X0 Y0 ;move X/Y to min endstops G28 Z0 ;move Z to min endstops G1 Z15.0 F9000 ;move the platform down 15mm G92 E0 ;zero the extruded length G1 F200 E3 ;extrude 3mm of feed stock G92 E0 ;zero the extruded length again G1 F9000 M117 Print0ng... M83 ;relative extrusion mode G1 F1500 E-6.5 ;LAYER_COUNT:96 ;LAYER:0 M107 G0 F600 X90.425 Y93.152 Z0.3 ;TYPE:SKIRT G1 F1500 E6.5 ... </code></pre> <p>In addition, the extruder and heat sensor are working. An older G-code file correctly sets 200 °C as the target temperature for the extruder.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/nQhqQ.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/nQhqQ.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p> <p>This G-code prints just fine</p> <pre><code>;FLAVOR:RepRap ;TIME:4628 ;Filament used: 1.44191m ;Layer height: 0.15 ;Generated with Cura_SteamEngine 3.4.1 T0 M190 S60 M104 S200 M109 S200 M82 ;absolute extrusion mode G21 ;metric values G90 ;absolute positioning M82 ;set extruder to absolute mode M107 ;start with the fan off G28 X0 Y0 ;move X/Y to min endstops G28 Z0 ;move Z to min endstops G1 Z15.0 F9000 ;move the platform down 15mm G92 E0 ;zero the extruded length G1 F200 E3 ;extrude 3mm of feed stock G92 E0 ;zero the extruded length again G1 F9000 M117 Print0ng... M83 ;relative extrusion mode G1 F1500 E-6.5 ;LAYER_COUNT:80 ;LAYER:0 M107 G0 F4800 X72.96 Y99.484 Z0.3 ;TYPE:SKIRT --- </code></pre> <hr /> <p><em>Note, I have never modified the firmware or changed anything except what I can change with the frontpanel.</em></p>

8242

Anet A8 ignores extruder temperature?

<p>I got the same problem today and after a lot of troubleshooting (following the answers here) I found out that the <strong>issue was the connection to the hotbed</strong>. After I clean out the connection to the hotbed the printer started working as usual. The debugging logic was that <strong>the printer heats up the hotbed <em>before</em> setting the extruder temperature</strong>.</p> <p>Looking to your LCD the issue seems to be the same, since 33 degrees is a normal ambient temperature.</p>

2019-02-12T17:57:02.127

|extruder|troubleshooting|extrusion|monoprice-maker-select|

<p>I've done a fair bit of looking around for an answer and have yet been unable to find one.</p> <p>So here is my problem, after about 200-300&nbsp;mm of extrusion, the PLA stops coming through the nozzle. When I pull the PLA out it looks like <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/piSWO.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a>. There are teeth marks going up the PLA and end with a small divot. The head of the PLA is slightly thicker than the rest of the PLA; approximately 1.9&nbsp;mm.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/li46S.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/li46S.jpg" alt="Filament shape after taken out of hotend"></a></p> <p>I first noticed this when I thought that only the bottom layer was being printed. I moved to printing a small <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:56142" rel="nofollow noreferrer">bullet</a> and I got about halfway through the print before it stopped extruding. </p> <p>Next I raised the Z position to about 100&nbsp;mm to give me some room to work and I manually moved the PLA through the extruder with the dial. No problems until I hit the 200&nbsp;mm mark or so. I've done this test 4 times now and failed at the approximate locations: 208&nbsp;mm, 280&nbsp;mm, 250&nbsp;mm, and 325&nbsp;mm.</p> <p>Settings:</p> <ol> <li>Nozzle: 200&nbsp;&deg;C </li> <li>Bed: 60&nbsp;&deg;C</li> <li>Layer Height: 0.15&nbsp;mm</li> </ol> <p>Other things I have tried with seemingly no effect:</p> <ul> <li>Turning off/on print cooling</li> <li>reducing retraction to 2&nbsp;mm from 6&nbsp;mm </li> <li>yelling out in frustration</li> <li>reformatting the SD card (because who knows?)</li> <li>brand new filament, older filament, middle aged filament</li> </ul>

8250

Monoprice Maker Select v2 stops extruding after about 200-300 mm

<p>Looking at the tread pattern on the filament, I think it's getting stuck. Note that the teeth marks get closer together as you go up the fillament, and the last one is a big divot, that looks like the gear trying to grab at it, and being unable to move it.</p> <p>Are you seeing any drops in nozzle temp? I had a cooling fan kick in and drop temps low enough to prevent extrusion before.</p> <p><em>Edit</em></p> <p>From the discussion in the notes, heat creep was identified as a possible culprit, and seems most likely.</p>

2019-02-12T19:00:05.360

|prusa-i3|hotend|troubleshooting|

<p>Kicked off the second long print in a series (printing Lack enclosure components). First 10 hour print was flawless. Started this one, saw the first layer laid down well, went to bed. Woke up to this (you can see the successful prints in the background):</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/HYYcU.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/HYYcU.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p> <p>The whole heater block and nozzle is entombed in PLA. The leads to the heater and the thermistor are too. I'm assuming there's no solvent for this, and I'm better off just buying a new hot end.</p> <p>Thoughts?</p>

8252

Is this hot end salvageable?

<p>If you can remove the hot-end it is easier. If not, carefully use hot air to soften (not melt) the PLA so you can more easily pull away chunks.</p> <p>When the hot-end is removed from the other plastic parts, you can get more aggressive with hot air. BUT, be careful of the thermistor and heater wires. They are fragile, and can easily be broken or pulled out of their devices.</p> <p>Heat and patience is the key. If you do break a heater or thermister, they are pretty easy to replace. Depending on the hot-end, the heater and/or the thermister may be locked in place by a set screw. That set-screw is probably locked in place by plastic, so use the hot-air gun to melt that plastic and allow you to back out the set-screw.</p>

2019-02-12T20:17:22.147

|marlin|troubleshooting|reprap|full-graphic-smart-controller|

<p>I've bought <a href="https://reprap.org/wiki/MKS_12864OLED" rel="noreferrer">MKS 12864OLED</a> and connected to my DIY 3d printer with Mega/RAMPS combination. In Marlin's configuration.h file there are these lines to uncomment:</p> <pre><code>// MKS OLED 1.3" 128 × 64 FULL GRAPHICS CONTROLLER // http://reprap.org/wiki/MKS_12864OLED // // Tiny, but very sharp OLED display // //#define MKS_12864OLED // Uses the SH1106 controller (default) //#define MKS_12864OLED_SSD1306 // Uses the SSD1306 controller </code></pre> <p>I'm not sure to choose between 'SH1106' or 'SSD1306'... either way, the LCD module is not working.</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LRFIX.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/LRFIX.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/oBNjU.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/oBNjU.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

8256

MKS 12864OLED Display setup

<p><em>First of all let me state that I do not own the module! The analysis below is based on old patches that worked in a version of Marlin in 2015, and translated to the latest version of Marlin of the 1.1.x branch. This is 1.1.9; this is the last version of the 1.1.x branch, all new development takes place in branch bugfix-2.0.x (dated May 2019).</em></p> <hr> <p>The reported patches are compatible with an earlier version of Marlin Firmware (a version from 2015). Clearly this doesn't work anymore, but that should not be a problem, if it worked then it should work now provided we configure it correctly. The display you have requires U8GLIB_SSD1306, so the U8GLIB library need to be installed in your Arduino IDE!</p> <p>Let's follow <a href="http://img.banggood.com/file/products/20161003040825SKU475616.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this installation guide</a> for the older version as an example.</p> <p>First, from patch 1 it becomes clear that you'll need to define that you are using a display that is identified by its name/type, you should uncomment the following line in your <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/1.1.x/Marlin/Configuration.h" rel="nofollow noreferrer">configuration.h</a> in the section:</p> <pre> //============================================================================= //======================== LCD / Controller Selection ========================= //======================== (Character-based LCDs) ========================= //============================================================================= </pre> <pre> //#define MKS_12864OLED_SSD1306 // Uses the SSD1306 controller </pre> <p>to:</p> <pre> #define MKS_12864OLED_SSD1306 // Uses the SSD1306 controller </pre> <p>as you are using the SSD1306 controller according to <a href="http://img.banggood.com/file/products/20161003040825SKU475616.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this reference</a>.</p> <p>That is about the only thing you add in the <code>configuration.h</code> file! You only activate the name of the controller type (as in defining a constant) so that it is caught in other source or header files to do/trigger something.</p> <p>With this change, you automatically activated the rest of patch as that is implemented in <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/1.1.x/Marlin/Conditionals_LCD.h" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Conditionals_LCD.h</a>!</p> <p>Next, we need to address patch 2. This is addressed in <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/bugfix-1.1.x/Marlin/ultralcd_impl_DOGM.h" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ultralcd_impl_DOGM.h</a>; here you will find:</p> <pre> #elif ENABLED(MKS_12864OLED_SSD1306) // MKS 128x64 (SSD1306) OLED I2C LCD U8GLIB_SSD1306_128X64 u8g(DOGLCD_SCK, DOGLCD_MOSI, DOGLCD_CS, DOGLCD_A0); // 8 stripes //U8GLIB_SSD1306_128X64_2X u8g(DOGLCD_SCK, DOGLCD_MOSI, DOGLCD_CS, DOGLCD_A0); // 4 stripes</pre> <p>which clearly differs from the patch:</p> <pre> U8GLIB_SSD1306_128X64 u8g(23, 17, 16, 25); // SW SPI Com: SCK = 23, MOSI = 17, CS = 16, A0 = 25 </pre> <p>as such that it uses numbers instead of constants. So we need to define these constants first. These constants are defined by the board you are using, more specifically the pin layout. </p> <p>Looking at the <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/1.1.x/Marlin/pins_RAMPS.h" rel="nofollow noreferrer">pin layout of your RAMPS board</a>:</p> <pre> #if ENABLED(MKS_12864OLED) || ENABLED(MKS_12864OLED_SSD1306) #define LCD_PINS_DC 25 // Set as output on init #define LCD_PINS_RS 27 // Pull low for 1s to init // DOGM SPI LCD Support #define DOGLCD_CS 16 #define DOGLCD_MOSI 17 #define DOGLCD_SCK 23 #define DOGLCD_A0 LCD_PINS_DC </pre> <p>you'll find that the pins are correctly configured with the fore mentioned:</p> <pre><code>U8GLIB_SSD1306_128X64 u8g(DOGLCD_SCK, DOGLCD_MOSI, DOGLCD_CS, DOGLCD_A0); // 8 stripes </code></pre> <p>We move on to patch 3. This patch deals with the reset/initialization of the OLED display. This is also already taken care of in <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/bugfix-1.1.x/Marlin/ultralcd_impl_DOGM.h" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ultralcd_impl_DOGM.h</a>:</p> <pre> #if PIN_EXISTS(LCD_RESET) OUT_WRITE(LCD_RESET_PIN, LOW); // perform a clean hardware reset _delay_ms(5); OUT_WRITE(LCD_RESET_PIN, HIGH); _delay_ms(5); // delay to allow the display to initalize #endif </pre> <p>Next to patch 4, in <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/1.1.x/Marlin/pins_RAMPS.h" rel="nofollow noreferrer">pins_RAMPS.h</a> you see that pin 25 and 27 are correctly defined (apart from the name LCD_PINS_RS<strong>T</strong>, now without <strong>T</strong>, but that is fine!):</p> <pre><code> #if ENABLED(MKS_12864OLED) || ENABLED(MKS_12864OLED_SSD1306) #define LCD_PINS_DC 25 // Set as output on init #define LCD_PINS_RS 27 // Pull low for 1s to init </code></pre> <p>The only difference is that pins</p> <pre><code> #define LCD_PINS_D5 #define LCD_PINS_D6 </code></pre> <p>are not set to -1, so to be consistent, you should change <a href="https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/blob/1.1.x/Marlin/pins_RAMPS.h" rel="nofollow noreferrer">pins_RAMPS.h</a> to:</p> <pre> #if ENABLED(MKS_12864OLED) || ENABLED(MKS_12864OLED_SSD1306) #define LCD_PINS_DC 25 // Set as output on init #define LCD_PINS_RS 27 // Pull low for 1s to init // DOGM SPI LCD Support #define DOGLCD_CS 16 #define DOGLCD_MOSI 17 #define DOGLCD_SCK 23 #define DOGLCD_A0 LCD_PINS_DC #define LCD_PINS_D5 -1 #define LCD_PINS_D6 -1 #else #define LCD_PINS_RS 16 #define LCD_PINS_ENABLE 17 #define LCD_PINS_D4 23 #define LCD_PINS_D5 25 #define LCD_PINS_D6 27 #endif </pre> <p>A conclusion from the analysis above is that you enable the display in your configuration file and add the 2 values of -1 for D5 and D6, but I don't think they cause problems if they're not initialized to -1. Be sure that the cables are connected correctly. Some modules have reported upside down connectors.</p>

2019-02-13T07:05:09.907

|creality-ender-3|print-failure|

<p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/fY6wJ.jpg" alt="Failed first and second layer of print"></p> <p>I have only been able to get my prints this far. They just can’t stop skipping pulling material up towards the nozzle which then melts pulls of another random bit. At first I thought it was motor skipping, so I strengthened the spring, but even after that and calibrating the bed, I couldn’t figure out exactly how to fix this issue. Hopefully someone has some idea what is wrong.</p>

8263

Ender 3 print is skipping and dragging up base print lines

<p>I would get rid of the blue tape and go with glass and hairspray. Glass gives you more of a flat surface. You are printing with the aluminum build plate which over time c an warp. The glass with give you a much flatter and level surface to print om. Blue Tape is actually not a great surface to print on. Hairspray using a chemical compound that actually is related to a PLA makeup. This compound in Aquanet Hairspray will bond to the PLA and release when cold. Using both the glass and hairspray will give you and even build plate and a clean smooth surface that it will stick to better than blue tape. </p>

2019-02-13T10:27:05.650

|octoprint|

<p>Octoprint warns me that the objects do not fit into the print volume. I noticed that this happens after a power-off cycle. Since I was overly anxious until today, I always uploaded the GCode file again and it didn't complain any more.</p> <p>Of course, always uploading the files again is also error prone. So today I gave it a try and simply started to print the object. As far as I can tell, it prints nicely.</p> <blockquote> <p>Image: Octoprint saying something like "Object does not fit into print volume" in German</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/5NiFh.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/5NiFh.png" alt="Object does not fit into print volume"></a></p> <p><strong>Is this a known bug in OctoPrint? Are my files really damaged after a power off cycle?</strong></p> <p>The values (0.00, -3.00, 0.00) seem to be constant in this error message, no matter what object I want to print.</p> <p>I'm using OctoPrint in the PrusaPrint flavor and I'm running version 1.3.10 (hopefully a recent version, since I usually update). I generate the G-Code with Slic3r.</p>

8266

False "Object does not fit into print volume" warning from OctoPrint

<p><a href="/a/8267">This answer</a> is correct, it's normal for Prusa printers to purge at -3&nbsp;mm on the Y axis.</p> <p>This answer is an addition that describes how to get rid of the error.</p> <ol> <li>Open Octoprint web UI</li> <li>Go to <code>Settings</code> -> <code>Printer Profiles</code></li> <li>Find active profile, click on the pen icon next to it (<code>Edit Profile</code>)</li> <li>Go to <code>Print bed and build volume</code></li> <li>Tick <code>Custom bounding box</code></li> <li>Enter -3 to <code>Y Coordinates</code> <code>Min</code> input box</li> <li>Hit <code>Confirm</code></li> </ol>

2019-02-16T17:14:12.037

|extruder|calibration|tevo-tornado|

<p>I calibrated my extruder according to the <a href="https://mattshub.com/2017/04/19/extruder-calibration/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">mattshub tutorial</a> and printed the <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2490893" rel="nofollow noreferrer">extruder calibration test cube</a> with 2 perimeters of 0.4 mm. So the walls should all be 0.8mm thick but only 3 are close to 0.8mm and one is about 0.93 mm thick. The pictures are one turn, walls following each other are side by side:</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Sr87G.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Sr87G.jpg" alt="Thick wall" /></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iexNC.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iexNC.jpg" alt="thin wall" /></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/cu8cO.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/cu8cO.jpg" alt="Average Wall 1" /></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kEKOW.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/kEKOW.jpg" alt="Average Wall 2" /></a></p> <h2>Update 1</h2> <p>I printed a solid, smooth calibration cube with 1 Perimeter of 0.45 mm, 0 top/bottom layers and 0 % infill, as suggested and got 0.56 mm, 0.65 mm, 0.79 mm and 0.54 mm</p> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/mAvYK.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/mAvYK.png" alt="The results: 0.56/0.65/0.79/0.54 " /></a></p> <p>I believe that the thickest side is the one where the layer ends and retraction is done in the corner before layer change. Maybe retraction settings?</p> <h2>Update 2</h2> <p>After setting the Extrusion Multiplier to 70%, I got wall thicknesses of 0.89 mm, 0.86 mm, 0.81 mm and 0.96 mm on a 2 Perimeter print of the same object.</p> <h2>Update 3</h2> <p><em>Fudging</em> with the steps per millimeter changed them from 428 to 306. The resulting one perimeter test was 0.59 mm, 0.46 mm, 0.42 mm and 0.39 mm, pretty much spot on safe for one wall being fat and one thin...</p> <p>I print at 215 °C with 5 mm retraction to increase strength and get stringing in check.</p>

8288

Extrusion test cube resulted in one wall being thicker

<h2>Why not that test print?</h2> <p>You don't want a print constraining your walls to 0.8 mm, since you don't want to print with 1 nozzle diameter for better print quality. Atop that, slicing can induce errors that increase the thickness of walls without us noticing it in the slicer view. Two sources of error (once for each wall) means an additional 10% error, which would bring the wall as you got perfectly into the expected area: <span class="math-container">$0.8\text{ mm}\times 1,1\times 1,1=0.968\text{ mm}$</span></p> <h2>Let's Troubleshoot!</h2> <p>You might not have calibrated the extrusion multiplier correctly, or the steps/mm might be off, or other print settings shoot us way off. Let's make sure to find the source.</p> <h3>Filament extrusion multiplier</h3> <ul> <li>use a solid cube as a base, for example, <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:38108" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:38108</a></li> <li>set <code>line width</code> to 0.45 mm to counteract errors from die swell and get a better print result in general¹ <ul> <li><span class="math-container">$d_\text{line width}=0.45\text{ mm}$</span></li> </ul></li> <li>set the number of walls/perimeters to 1 <ul> <li><span class="math-container">$p=1$</span></li> </ul></li> <li>set <code>infill</code> to 0%</li> <li>set <code>top layers</code> to 0</li> <li>set the <code>extrusion multiplier</code> to 100 %</li> <li>print the cube (or half of it, Z-height does not matter too much) with no top and infill and 1 perimeter</li> <li>re-measure the walls</li> </ul> <p>Done that? Math time to calculate the correct multiplier for the filament! The average wall is easy:<span class="math-container">$$d_\text {average}={\frac{\sum_{i=1}^4 d_i}{4}}$$</span> <span class="math-container">$$\frac{d_\text{line width}\times p}{d_\text {average}}=\text{Extrusion multiplier}$$</span> Remember, that the result is not in % but a float point number! 1 is 100%. So you fill in that value times 100 into the <code>extrusion multiplier</code>.</p> <p>After this, repeat the whole process with 2 perimeters.</p> <p>^{1 - further reading: <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/q/6965/8884">Why is it conventional to set line width > nozzle diameter?</a> &amp; <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/6969/8884">Slicer line width vs. extrusion multiplier for layer adhesion? </a>}</p> <h3>Steps/mm</h3> <p>Make sure to test the extruder <em>against the heated extruder</em>, then repeat the calibration as your tutorial explained. </p> <p>For some tests, let's <em>fudge</em> to some degree: Trying a <em>filament dependant</em> value of steps per millimeter can help to try to find <em>other</em> sources of errors easier - it makes them at times more pronounced. So we just multiply our steps/mm with the extrusion multiplier that we calculate the way outlined below. For 428 steps/mm and the numbers from Update 3, this gives about 306 steps/mm. <strong>This is not a proper calibration</strong>, but a means for troubleshooting. After fudging with the parameters reset the extrusion multiplier to 100%, we just want to check what influences our thickness.</p> <h3>Other print settings</h3> <ul> <li>215 °C is way hot. Even if it can increase print strength in solid prints, it is usually better to print at 200 °C and less.</li> <li>Reduce retraction, possibly to 4 mm or maybe even 3 mm.</li> </ul> <p>Lower temperature and less retraction should get prints more consistent, as pressure changes in the nozzle are more consistent. Remember, we are playing with the settings here.</p> <h2>And now <strong>Properly</strong></h2> <h3>Back to Calibration!</h3> <p>After all the fudging and probably making everything worse, we got to make sure to properly calibrate, those settings will be WAY OFF, in fact, we might go back to the original steps/mm or higher:</p> <ul> <li>Note the current steps/mm as <span class="math-container">$s$</span>. </li> <li>Mark the 150mm from the extruder intake. remember if you marked on the close or far side... or simply cut the filament as exact as you can. </li> <li>Heat the hotend </li> <li>send a <code>G1 E100 F100</code> </li> <li>Measure the distance to the extruder intake afterwards as <span class="math-container">$d$</span> to get the actual extruded filament <span class="math-container">$e$</span>. Make sure to measure the same side of the marking!</li> <li><span class="math-container">$(150-d)=e$</span> </li> <li><span class="math-container">$\frac{s\times 100}{e}=s^*$</span> as the corrected steps/mm</li> <li>send <code>M92 E###.##</code> with ###.## taking the <span class="math-container">$s^*$</span></li> <li>send <code>M500</code> to store the value to the EEPROM</li> </ul> <h3>Extrusion/Flow Calibration</h3> <p>Now, go back to print a single filament extrusion multiplier calibration, as above. It should be somewhat close(er) to 100% now.</p> <h2>Slicer Fault?</h2> <p>Note that <strong>not all Slicers are equal</strong>: some slicers are better and more consistent in the results than others with the stock settings, and even with the same settings results may varry. For example the line width for the same settings with Simplify3D and Cura or Slic3r Prusa Edition can differ. The reasons for this are hard to find exactly, but they are most likely rooted in the different slicing processes and optimisation. Sometimes it is some setting that might be overlooked that results in line width variations.</p> <p>The Slicer world changed a lot betwene 2015 and 2019, and even if you got fed up with one slicer years ago, now it might be worth a shot to test it again. See if you might get better results with other slicers, as for whatever reason, your slicer might cause the issiues, whih allows you to hunt down setting dependant items.</p>

2019-02-17T03:50:02.237

|troubleshooting|octoprint|flsun-3d-cube|

<p>Running my Flsun 3D Cube from a Kubuntu PC using Octopi, and trying to get my webcam to work with it. I've followed the instructions on Github for mjpg_streamer to the letter. Everything I've read says, "Sure! The Raspberry PI directions will work with Linux, you bet!" but they don't, at least, not for me, a beginning level Linux user.</p> <p>I know that my webcam works with Kubuntu since I can load it and view it using VLC, but I've been unable to figure out how to get Octopi to read the stream from VLC (the documentation could use some improvement) or even confirm if the stream works.</p> <p>Back to mjpg_streamer: when I issue the command </p> <pre><code>export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=. ./mjpg_streamer -o "output_http.so -w ./www" -i "input_raspicam.so" </code></pre> <p>I get </p> <pre><code>bash: export: 'mjpg_streamer': not a valid identifier bash: export: '-o:' not a valid identifier bash: export: 'output_http.so -w ./www': not a valid identifier bash: export: '-i': not a valid identifier bash: export: 'input_raspicam.so': not a valid identifier </code></pre> <p>I don't know what I don't know, and I don't know how to proceed. The goal is to view my webcam in Octopi/Octolapse on a Kubuntu PC. (Windows with Yawcam, no brainer; Linux, not so much.)</p>

8293

mjpg_streamer, Octopi, Kubuntu

<p>Going to post the answer here for posterity and for those, like me, trying to cope with Linux after making a career in Windows.</p> <p>I'm running Kubuntu 18 because I didn't want to have to buy an operating system or install a bootleg copy of Windows. The most important thing for a Windows user to know is that the readme.md file is important. Think of it as a .chm file, or a series of linked help documents. What you want to know is THERE, not on the github page. </p> <p>Using the following command in the mjpg-streamer-experimental directory got me where I needed to go.</p> <pre><code>mjpg_streamer -i 'input_uvc.so -d /dev/video0 -r SVGA -f 30' -o 'output_http.so' </code></pre> <p>e.g. webcam, 800x600, 30fps to http (port 8080 is the default) The MD files break it down. I also found two web pages very useful: </p> <p><a href="http://skillfulness.blogspot.com/2010/03/mjpg-streamer-documentation.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://skillfulness.blogspot.com/2010/03/mjpg-streamer-documentation.html</a> <a href="https://wiki.ubuntuusers.de/MJPG-Streamer/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://wiki.ubuntuusers.de/MJPG-Streamer/</a></p> <p>In OctoPrint the streaming setting is then:</p> <pre><code>http://127.0.0.1:8080/?action=stream </code></pre> <p>In my case, I use the network IP rather than local host so I can monitor the print from my upstairs PC. For snapshots: </p> <pre><code>http://127.0.0.1:8080/?action=snapshot </code></pre> <p>I'll admit that Octolapse doesn't work for me yet because I'm still trying to work out ffmpeg, but that's another issue. <strong>EDIT:</strong> got that done, too. Useful command: </p> <pre><code>whereis ffmpeg </code></pre>

2019-02-19T03:11:42.517

|z-axis|electronics|creality-ender-3|bed-leveling|inductive-sensor|

<p>I am going to buy an inductive probe for my Creality Ender 3 to enable ABL (Automatic Bed Leveling). And now, I have one last question left on my mind:</p> <p>I am going to buy a <a href="https://www.conrad.de/de/vishay-optokoppler-phototransistor-sfh610a-1-dip-4-transistor-dc-154085.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Vishay Optokoppler Phototransistor SFH610A-1 DIP-4 Transistor DC</a>.</p> <p>Is it sufficient to put a 2&nbsp;-&nbsp;2.2&nbsp;k&Omega; resistor between the input of the octocouplers LED side and the 24&nbsp;V Output of the probe, to lower the current and voltage enough to work with the octocoupler? Or do I need something else?</p> <p>On the transistor side, I will simply attach the 2 wire Z-endstop cable, +5&nbsp;V on Collector and GND on Emitter.</p>

8297

Hooking up an optocoupler in a 24V Machine, is a 2 kOhm resistor sufficient?

<h3><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Too_long;_didn%27t_read" rel="nofollow noreferrer">TL;DR</a></h3> <p>Yes, a 2 kΩ resistor is sufficient to limit the current to about 12 mA through the optocoupler. With a maximum current specification of 60 mA you require at least 400 Ω; any resistor in between the values should be suitable for this optocoupler component when used at 24 V. More information is found below.</p> <hr /> <p>Having a glass bed and using an inductive probe may not work optimally. In such cases a 3D touch sensor is a very good alternative. For inductive sensors, remember that these sensors optimally detect steel, aluminium is harder to detect (<a href="http://www.fargocontrols.com/sensors/inductive_op.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">about 60 % less than iron</a>; a glass sheet in between the bed and the sensor requires you to acquire a sensor with a large detection range, e.g. 8 mm or more. To optimize the detection distance such sensors need to be powered to the maximum voltage they can handle (usually 36 V) or the highest voltage you have available (e.g. power supply 12 or 24 V). To protect the board, that is only allowed to receive up to 5 V, an optocoupler is an excellent way to guarantee the separation of voltage levels.</p> <p>Considering your questions, it is fair to assume you are not an experienced electronics tinkerer, purchasing an optocoupler module is the best alternative, you just screw the wires into the respective input screw terminals as shown in <a href="/a/6359">this answer</a>.</p> <p>As the optocoupler separates two circuits, you can safely use 24 V on the one side and the 5 V on the other side, you do not need an additional resistor when you use a module board. If you plan to buy separate components to build your own circuit, you need to look at the maximum current that the optocoupler can handle on the input side (that will be 24 V). From the documentation from the optocoupler one reads that it is limited to 60 mA. A <strong>maximum current</strong> would therefore require a resistor of:</p> <p><span class="math-container">$$ R=\frac{U}{I}=\frac{24}{60\times10^{-3}}=400\ \Omega $$</span></p> <p>My 12 V optocoupler module uses a 1 kΩ resistor implying a 12 mA current. In your case allowing 12 mA of current yields a 2 kΩ resistor.</p>

2019-02-19T10:26:43.260

|stl|openscad|linux|

<p>First, I'm using Linux Mint 18.3 (Sylvia). Until now, I've been using OpenSCAD with the GUI and never experienced issues. Now I try to start OpenSCAD from the command line, but it always opens an empty file, even if a file with the specified name exists. </p> <p>Since I have a rather big script, I'd like to generate the STL's via the CLI. Due to this error, I can not even do any tests for parameter passing.</p> <p>What I'd like to do is to issue a command (flom the command line or in a shell script) that says "Set objectID to 1, render and export the result to stl".</p> <p>Here is my M(N)WE:</p> <pre><code>// test.scad objectID = 2; if (objectID == 1) difference(){ cylinder(d=20, h=50, center=true); cylinder(d=16, h=50.2, center=true); } else if (objectID == 2) difference(){ cube(50, center=true); cube([35,35,70], center=true); } </code></pre> <p>Any help will greatly be appreciated.</p>

8301

OpenSCAD 2018 Command line

<p>I could finally solve the issue. Calling <code>openscad</code> from command line with parameters does NOT work with the AppImage I used. It works fine with a "standard" installation, though.</p> <p>Thanks for your support.</p>

2019-02-21T01:42:44.600

|filament|filled-pla|

<p>PLA wood has a beautiful natural texture that I wanted to try. But when I used it in my second print, it clogged the nozzle (solved). I know this filament is composed of 70 % PLA and 30 % recycled pine wood fibers.</p> <ul> <li>Are there special indications for this kind of filament?</li> <li>Should I modify the temperature, or other settings?</li> </ul>

8313

PLA wood filament: a special treatment?

<h2>PLA and wood fibres = wood filament</h2> <p>Most wood filamet consists of about 60-70 % PLA and 40-30 % wood fibres. This basically implies that PLA temperatures should be used. It can be printed with standard 0.4 mm nozzles, but it is adviced to be printed with a larger diameter nozzle. A larger nozzle will less likely to cause nozzles to clog (more area for the fibres to pass through).</p> <h2>Basic printing advice</h2> <p>Start experimenting with relatively large layer heights (0.25-0.3 mm layer heights). Printing speeds should be held high to ensure relative short residence times in the hot end (in the range 50-80 mm/s). Short residence times prevent degradation by heat resulting in clogging. It is best for wood fibres filled filaments to not have the filament to stagnate (e.g. pausing). A higher retraction speed and distance might be needed because the filament usually is a little more runny compared to plain PLA.</p> <h2>Beware</h2> <p>After printing, you should retract the filament from the hotend so that during next printing jobs heat up cycle, the filament doesn't degrade and clogs the nozzle. Alter the end script G-code and also use priming scripts at the start and/or do not forget to use a large skirt of multiple lines or a considerable length. As always, you shouldn't leave the printer unattended, regularly check the printer and shut down the printer when there is something wrong, e.g. not extruding. Also note that wood filled filament is <a href="/a/15371">reported to be abrasive</a> to brass nozzles, a (hardened) steel nozzle or a Ruby nozzle should mitigate wear problems.</p> <h2>Basic settings</h2> <p>These settings have proven to work, but are not a guarantee, these settings should provide a reference to start experimenting on your own printer:</p> <ul> <li>Temperature: 190-205 °C</li> <li>Layerheight: 0.25 mm</li> <li>Speed: 50 mm/s</li> <li>Minimal layertime: 8 s</li> <li>Bowden type extruder <ul> <li>Retraction speed: 40 mm/s</li> <li>Retraction distance: 5.5 mm</li> </ul> </li> <li>Direct extruder <ul> <li>Retraction speed: 25 mm/s</li> <li>Retraction distance: 1.3 mm</li> </ul> </li> </ul>

2019-02-21T13:09:38.600

|software|slicing|firmware|cubepro-duo|

<p>So, having bought this cube pro duo 3d printer a few days ago I have come to see how significantly limiting the default slicer software that comes with the machine is. For the prints that I am doing I've been looking around at alternative slicers however the cube pro has its own file format for builds and I'm not sure if any other software has the option to export those specifically and I also have no idea id the CubePro can read any files other than its own. On top of this whenever I download some other slicer it gets to the printer setup and there's a whole bunch of settings and parameters for the printer that I haven't been able to find, stuff like Firmware or Nozzle Diameter (Something that id expect to be easy to find).</p> <p>In particularly a software called IdeaMaker is what I'm interested in since I've seen that you can make custom supports and that would be very useful for what I'm doing.</p> <p>Does anyone know what I can do? Or is this a case of there's nothing I can do without some serious modification that I'd rather not do?</p> <p>Any help is appreciated thanks! :D</p>

8316

CubePro Alternative Slicer

<p>As far as I understand, the CubePro 3D printers use their own format: .cubepro or .cubex.</p> <p>It <a href="https://forum.simplify3d.com/viewtopic.php?t=5924" rel="nofollow noreferrer">appears</a> that a:</p> <blockquote> <p>.cubepro file format and found out that it only does a Blowfish ECB encryption of the .bfb file</p> </blockquote> <p>This implies that you need to find a slicer that outputs <code>.bfb</code> tool path files (similar like G-code files) and a tool to encrypt the tool path file. The dubious CodeX tool and <a href="https://forum.simplify3d.com/viewtopic.php?t=5924" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this alternative</a> can do that for you.</p>

2019-02-22T03:30:26.623

|marlin|firmware|electronics|

<p>I am trying to make Marlin use the RX1 and TX1 pins that are in the EXP1 connection. I am connecting those pins to the TX, RX of an Arduino.</p> <p>The Configuration.h file has a SERIAL_PORT define, normally configured to be 0, but supposedly changeable. </p> <p><strong>What should be changed in Marlin to make it used the Serial1 port (if possible at all)?</strong> I am using the latest code provided in <a href="https://github.com/Printrbot/Marlin" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Printrbot's Marlin repository</a></p> <p>From the Configuration.h file:</p> <pre><code>// SERIAL_PORT selects which serial port should be used for communication with the host. // This allows the connection of wireless adapters (for instance) to non-default port pins. // Serial port 0 is still used by the Arduino bootloader regardless of this setting. #define SERIAL_PORT 0 //#define SERIAL_PORT 1 // This determines the communication speed of the printer // This determines the communication speed of the printer #define BAUDRATE 250000 //#define BAUDRATE 9600 </code></pre> <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/6za30.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/6za30.png" alt="Printrboard"></a></p>

8320

Printrboard Rev. D - RX1 and TX1 (second serial port) / Marlin

<p>I was able to resolve this issue: </p> <ol> <li>I moved to Marlin 1.1.9 (the final release of the 1.1.x versions).</li> <li>I made a <a href="https://github.com/josea/Marlin/tree/josea-printrbot" rel="nofollow noreferrer">fork</a>, for those who would like to see the changes. Also summarized below.</li> <li>The RX1 and TX1 pins are well identified in the question. I connected those directly to the HC-06 bluetooth module (using a voltage divider for the RX pin in the bluetooth, as it is a 3.3 V logic module).</li> </ol> <p><strong>Changes in code:</strong> </p> <p>Marlin/Conditionals.LCD.h: commented out: </p> <pre><code>// this line conflicted with the bluetooth/serial1 options // #define USE_MARLINSERIAL !(defined(__AVR__) &amp;&amp; defined(USBCON)) </code></pre> <p>The rest are the configuration options already provided by Marlin in Marlin.Configuration.h: </p> <pre><code>define SERIAL_PORT 1 define BAUDRATE 115200 // Note: this baudrate MUST match the one set in the bluetooth module. That's done using the AT commands. There is plenty of information on how to do that. define BLUETOOTH </code></pre> <p>As a result of these changes I am able to print with my PrintrBot Simple 2014 (Printrboard Rev. D) with Bluetooth over a distance of ~3.5mts, behind a wall. I haven't tested it exhaustely, but it does print. </p>